Redemption of the Dark kind
by xisinj64
Summary: Sequal to Into the Darkness. Alex has been resurrected on Norstith's orders, though secret developments happen without his knowledge in regard to his return. He seeks vengeance, but loses his faith in continuing his dark path. Note:Chapter 2 now extended.
1. Chapter 1

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 1: Remembrance and rebirth.**

**Hello readers, this is my sequel to my first Fanfiction, Into the Darkness. It is in the Avatar movie section, like this story is also, and continues on from where the story left, with Alex dead and his three friends triumphing over him, while Norstith initiates his next plans.**

**This is the second part of a trilogy, and unlike the first one, which may have seemed slightly rushed and vague at times due to its longer time-span, this story and the last of the trilogy shall be within a smaller time frame, and be more detailed, as the supporting back story has been established.**

**And for god's sake, I need feedback to be able to please the readers, so I can make adjustments to my storytelling if needed!**

**PS: I don't own Avatar, Avatar the last Airbender, Transformers, Predator or any other trademarked franchises that are mentioned in these stories. [If I did, I'd be burning some 100 dollar bills right about now.]**

"_Non-English language__**"**_

"English"

"**Electronic/messaging"**

_Thoughts_

4 months has passed now since the death of the UIP president, and of the former war hero Alex. He died in combat against his former friends, after they hunted him down to install justice upon him for his wrong deeds, despite his claims that he did it to serve true justice.

And to this day, the decision and acts made by both him and them still haunt those who witnessed them. The legacy he left behind was almost unrivalled.

But some legacies are left to be picked up by others who are willing to claim it as their own.

**Omaticaya tribe, Pandora, Alpha Centuari system**

**6****th**** July, 2899**

Today was a day of celebration for the Omaticaya people. One of their most prestigious members had returned to the clan on leave from a tour of duty in the interstellar war raging among the stars. And with her, came two of her companions and allies who aided her in those times.

Sru'sky laughed in joy as her father twirled her, the dance causing every fibre in her body to become warmer. She relished these rare moments with her family in her home, and because of their rarity, she cherished them all the more, never once taking them for granted.

Outside the group of dancers, Firi'sry watched with motherly pride as her daughter enjoyed her time with her father. She would only be here for another four days, but she seemed determined to enjoy every bit of it. Off to her side, Firi'sry heard Trion shift uncomfortably on the ground, his bulk shaking the tree beneath him. Even though his silver body was only 15 feet tall, one and a half times taller than an average Na'vi, he was still a gargantuan being here. Sensing his unease, Firi'sry asked him in Na'vi: "_You seem nervous Trion, what is wrong?"_

Trion's silver helmeted head snapped to face her, and he replied: "_I wish to take part in the dancing, but my size is somewhat, limiting." _He then gazed longingly at Sru'sky, a small smile on his facial plating as she laughed in joy while she danced her heart away. Firi'sry noticed this, and with a small gasp realized that Trion may have some feelings for her daughter.

_Such a relationship could never work between them on a scale like mates have. There may be stories of different people joining in love, but surely the line is drawn somewhere?_

Firi'sry probed Trion about this matter: "_Trion, do you have any love in your life at all? You seem to never express any more passionate emotions?"_

Trion was reluctant to answer this, and said only part of his mind: "_I have not yet had any romantic relationships with anyone. I have not found the time or the courage to do so. But I have seen someone, and she is consistently on my mind when it wanders freely."_

Firi'sry's smile grew as she saw Trion's blue optics flick towards Sru'sky quickly, before returning back. Had she looked over at Sru'sky, she would have seen her stealing glances at the silver mech as she danced with H'nuptec.

It seemed her daughter had an admirer. One who had already proven himself as a brave and courageous soul, even if he was in a vastly different vessel to hers.

On Trion's other side, Quirinth had been sitting unnoticed, staring off into the fire in front of her, remembering past times with Sru'sky, Trion and him.

Not being able to put it off any longer, she got up and headed out, her mandibles forced shut in an effort to bottle up the emotions inside her. As she left, Trion and Firi'sry noticed her leaving, and decided to watch where she went form afar.

Quirinth wandered down the spiralling interior branches, and headed off towards an alcove in one corner of hometree's base. By the time Firi'sry and Trion decided to follow, Sru'sky and H'nuptec had joined them, and tagged along with them in seeing where the young predator was headed off to.

As they followed, they found Quirinth inside the boneyard, where the dead were buried. They saw her stop over a grave, and simply stand there motionless. They approached, knowing full well she would hear them coming. As they stopped beside her, she broke down in tears before a long, rocky covered grave. The rock had been placed over the grave, as a way of helping preserve the body inside. Unseen beneath it lay a suit of armour, with a black and red trimmed body colour, scratches, burns and a shiny, transparent black flight helmet. Underneath it, a scarred human male rested forever. Alex lay undisturbed in his grave, the armour helping minimize the decomposition of his body. If one examined him, he would look like he had died five days ago, not five months. Unlike the other Na'vi in the grave, whose bodies were retaken by Eywa by this time, Alex's body was placed to last as a testament to his self proclaimed outcast stature, as he himself said he never felt he would be a part of Eywa. And like his legacy, his body would last for a long time.

His broken helmet lay on top of the grave, a new one covering his head now beneath the stone.

Quirinth knelt before the grave, sobbing softly as the memories of that day came back. How she had become enraged at the madness he had slipped into, and had brutally stabbed him in the shoulder and broke his control helmet to trap him in an inescapable, brutal, undeserved death. She still remembered what he had called them as they fled the collapsing building, leaving him to die.

_YOU MONSTERS!_

Above her weeping friend, Sru'sky stared at the grave, and was also brought to tears that he was not here to celebrate being off duty with them, and was never able to experience a longer, more fulfilling life. He did not have to die so young, and Sru'sky knew she had had a hand in ending her own brother's life. What saddened her most was that on top of calling them monsters, he had also verbally disowned her and her family in front of her, and then proceeded to attack them all.

It was Trion who spoke: "He didn't deserve what he got, he said he had joined a group of people who convinced him to do monstrous acts in the name of justice. Alex was long gone by the time we had to end him. He called us monsters as we left him to die, and I guess he was right. In ending a monster, we did a monstrous act to do it."

Firi'sry sadly commented: "He disowned his family, he claimed he never felt to be a part of this clan. I do not know where we went wrong."

H'nuptec had long learned of his mistake of favouritism for Sru'sky, and said: "He made those choices, but I pushed him away from us by preferring Sru'sky over him at times. I am what started his demise."

Qurinth spluttered out as she calmed herself, a reassuring hand on each shoulder by Sru'sky and Trion helping her: "At least now, he is at peace. He won't harm anyone, and he won't be harmed by anyone, ever again."

It was later that night when all of the five settled down. All five went to sleep with memories of the times with Alex, the beginning, all the way to his change in image to the Dark Hunter.

**Teranthos Nebula, Emancipator's research laboratory.**

The subject opened his eyes slowly, accustoming his body to the fluid surrounding him. The oxygen rich fluid was breathable, as he had been living in it for 3 months now. He had woken up two days ago, and during that time he had seen blurred shapes from beyond his glass tube, gesturing to him at times and talking in blurred voices.

Outside, the blue and grey Leg'hrul commanded the Kro'nogri scientist to awaken the subject, as enough time for physical development had passed. Now the true testing of the subject's nature could begin.

Inside the tube, Alex began to feel sleepy, as an anaesthetic and tranquilizer was applied into the fluid. By the time he was unconscious, the tube had begun to drain.

**3 hours later**

The subject awoke to the scent of crisp, sterilized air. He opened his eyes, adjusting them to the harsh glare of the laboratory lighting. As he glanced around, he saw equipment and machinery, which he recognized as such for some reason, despite having lived in a tube all his life.

"I see you are finally awake."

The voice shocked him, and he turned to face the source of it. He saw a Blue and grey avian, bipedal creature, about 7 feet tall. He looked slightly aged for his race, probably near middle aged. His eyes were a pair of golden irises, similar to that of another person deep in his memories.

The person, a Leg'hrul as he now remembered, spoke again: "Do you know who I am?"

The subject thought for a few moments, before the name came to him: "N-Nortstith."

Norstith smiled, realizing there was hope for success. He continued with the testing: "How do you remember me?"

"Y-You trained me once, in combat skills, to complete missions for the group you worked for. Was it the Initial nights, no! It was the Knight Initiative! I remember everything now! The war, the missions, my childhood!"

Norstith now knew that he had succeeded, and asked one final question: "And who are you?"

"I am Alex, the Dark Hunter."

Norstith smiled with glee, and rushed forwards to embrace his creation and former son-figure. He had done it! He cried for joy as he embraced the man, a true confirmation that it was not a dream. He backed away, and handed Alex a set of basic, casual clothing he had often worn:

"Get dressed, we have much to discuss."

Later, Norstith had led Alex to his apartment. As they entered, he gestured to a table a two chairs in front a large window, viewing out into space, with a great view of the surrounding Terranthos Nebula. As Alex sat down, he became aware that he felt rather weak still from awakening from the bed a few minutes earlier. It was when both were sitting that Norstith talked again:

"Words can't describe how much of a joy it is to see you again. After what happened all that time ago, I thought you were not going come back."

"That's my first question. Where am I! What is the date?"

"There is no other way to say this. It has been five months since your stand on Iegris, which sadly, did not end favourably in your respects. Ever since then, I've worked almost endlessly to rebuild you, to bring you back."

"Bring me back? From where?"

"You don't remember anything, do you? That day when you faced your former allies on Iegris, you died when the building you were standing on collapsed to the ground."

As the realization settled in, Alex remembered that day, how he was trapped on that collapsing building, left to die by his former companions. However, the shock of surviving such an event caused Alex to question the truth, which made him even more eager for answers.

"How is it I'm alive now?"

"A breakthrough in psionics and data storage. Do you remember that checkup I put you through right before your two months training period ended?"

"Who would forget having needles shoved in all sorts of places, and being placed in all sorts of strange scanners, and being put to sleep for a long period to do an internal examination."

"Well, while you were unconscious, I installed a data transmitter into your brain, one which remained inactive until signalled. Unbeknownst to you, I had scout drones monitoring your stand on Iegris, waiting to see if you needed assistance. When they saw you about to die, they activated a secret communication hyperwave, which activated the device right before you impacted the ground."

"That was when I blacked out before getting crushed! What's this got to do with it?"

"That device downloaded your entire mind, memories, skills and desires, and emptied your brain of anything. That is why you blacked out. It then transmitted this huge data load to my vessel, about 300 light years away at the time. It uploaded the data into a large storage device I had carried with me aboard. That device harboured your mind and perhaps equivalent of the soul, for about five months."

Norstith took out a small device from his robes, and set it on the table. It was about a foot long, and half a foot wide in a cylindrical shape. Alex looked at it, appalled that he had had to effectively inhabit such a small object for five months:

"You mean I was stuck in that thing for months at a time!"

"You had to be. You needed a safe haven until your new body was ready. That took four months to get up the standard where your mind could be safely transferred into the body. We used your DNA structure, and also altered some of the skin and muscles to fit the identity of yourself when you died."

Alex took this moment to examine himself. On the reflective surface of the table, he saw the familiar long scar on his left cheek, running from chin to below the ear. He also had some reddened skin, looking as if the burns on his left shoulder and arm he sustained had scarred and healed. The attention to detail was impressive, even the scar left by Quirinth's plasma blade was there, visible as a large, healed section of his right shoulder, with a crevice of missing skin showing where her blade had stabbed and slashed his shoulder apart.

"Most impressive. But why keep the scars?"

"To ensure you keep your identity as you left it. I presumed you would reserve those scars as a symbol of pride, as you did in your previous body. And was I right?"

"Again, you know unlike any other person."

"As I expected. I also took the liberty of, enhancing your physical abilities also, with the use of equipment and technology now permanently a part of your body."

"What do you mean?"

"I best start with the most noticeable parts for you. Feel your arms and legs thoroughly, and you will see they are not normal calcium bones."

As he felt his limbs, he indeed felt a difference in structure beneath the skin. It was much more solid, and in some areas more spiky.

"What is under here?"

"Mechanical limbs. Your hands, feet, legs and arms' bone structures and muscles have been replaced with stronger, faster, more durable efficient robotic limbs, customized for your body."

"WHAT! That's a tad drastic thing to do without my say so!"

"Well tell me, do they feel very different from your old limbs?"

"No, not really."

"And can you still feel things with your sense of touch."

Alex felt the table, and his clothing, and said: "Yes, but they seem sharper than before. I can make out more details than before, it feels great."

"In that case, I'll say no harm done. I can now safely tell you what else I took the liberty of adjusting on you. I added electronic audio systems to your ears, giving you much greater hearing abilities. The same applies to your eyesight, which I had biologically altered to improve slightly from a slightly deteriorated condition. Your sense of smell had been slightly enhanced biologically, whilst your sense of taste has been left unaltered. Your lungs have been artificially braced and strengthened, and your digestive tract has been artificially altered to maintain a healthy diet, no matter what you eat. Excess of inappropriate food amounts or types will result in either regurgitation, or excessive lavatory usage."

Alex almost threw up into his mouth a bit at the last statement, wishing his master had left that bit quiet. He breathed in a bit, and asked:

"But all of these electronic devices inside me? Surely they need a power source?"

"That they did. And to show you, I'm just going to open you up."

Norstith leaned over the table, and pressed a series of points on Alex's abdomen. Immediately, to Alex's mild horror, his skin opened like a set of double doors. Inside it, a bulky, circular device rested in the exact centre of his chest. Beside it, a smaller device rested alongside, silently working on its unknown task.

Norstith explained: "The larger device is a miniature fusion reactor. It is a duetrium-duetrium reactor. The duetrium can be extracted from any water you drink, although some periods of lesser power consuming activity may be necessary to maintain the reactor. Beside it is the fully automated blood pump. It pumps blood around your still organic body, and does not have a beating rhythm, just a steady flow which can be varied in rate. In a sense, you no longer have a heartbeat effectively. Go ahead, try to find a pulse on yourself."

Norstith looked on in amusement as Alex felt his neck, not bothering with his wrists, as they were no longer organic, just mimicries of his old limbs. Indeed, he found no detectable pulse. It was then that Alex looked up at Norstith, and asked:

"You still haven't told me where we are."

Norstith leaned forwards and activated a holographic display on the table. Immediately, an image flared to life, showing a 3D image of the Emancipator. As both examined it, they saw the long, cigar shaped body, with wing like structures jutting out from the sides of the ship's main hull. At the back, a massive array of engines rested, while the front was a reinforced hull section, with enough armour to ram an enemy ship safely. What truly stood apart was the size of the vessel. It measured 12 kilometres long from front to rear, and 3.5 kilometres at its widest section. Norstith then gestured to the image:

"This is the space dreadnought Emancipator. It was one of a class of ships the Kro'nogri and Leg'hrul empires had worked together to manufacture. However, this ship was half completed when the program of ships was cancelled, due to lack of interest in massive warships, as the military favoured many smaller ships. This half completed vessel was bought by the KI to act as a base of operations, able to hold its entire fleet inside it. We named it the Emancipator, to give it a name suitable of our organization's goals, to install freedom throughout the galaxy by any means necessary."

"I must admit, I am in awe at such a vessel. So we are on board this vessel? This is where you live?"

"Yes, this is where we shall both live, and where I shall train you in skills I was unwilling to show you until you fully proved yourself. Now that you have, and have tasted death, you will no longer fear death, and you will be able to utilize these skills to their full extent, without fear of your mortal being."

"So you brought me back for that purpose. To continue the quest I set myself upon."

"Indeed, you proved yourself willing to die for our cause. Because of that, and you reputation, I see no reason as to not make you privy to knowledge that can grant you unfathomable powers. Are you up to the challenge?"

Alex thought for a moment, the temptation of using such power for his noble purpose like a drug to his mind, and easily swayed his decision:

"Bring it on."

**12:00am, Emancipator's time.**

Norstith had long finished discussing final preparations for Alex's new training, and had bid him farewell as the boy retired to his new quarters. Proudly, Norstith remembered the fact that he had found the perfect candidate to be his successor. Devoted, loyal, merciless and cunning.

However, that did not necessarily mean making backup options was unnecessary.

As Norstith entered a second laboratory, deep in the bowels of the ship, where living beings seldom went. It was marked on the ship's maps as a fuel storage room. Inside though, two objects dominated the room.

Inside the tube, the fingers of the specimens twitched ever so slightly.

Norstith contemplated these creations of his. _These two are so different to Alex. They are new individuals, connected to Alex in their significance to my plans. I will awaken them and train them in secret elsewhere soon, so they will never meet Alex. Only when the time is right should they meet. And should Alex fail somehow, all of my hopes will lie with them._

_I pray that never must come. Having two pupils shall be interesting, but having all three is the best path to success._

In his new quarters, Alex dreamt of the day of his death, reliving the nightmare. He saw Quirinth standing over him, ready to plunge her blade into his shoulder. Suddenly, the scene blurred slightly and became darker, as Quirinth was stabbed through the chest from behind by a dark figure. As she fell to the floor, Alex saw the figure gesture to Sru'sky and Trion a few metres away, and he saw them begin to scream in pain as some invisible torture trick affected them, brought on by the dark figure staring at them.

The figure turned, stepping over Quirinth's bloody and also screaming corpse. It stood over Alex, offering him a hand up. As he took it, he saw the figure's face. A perfect match of his own, from the hair colour to the scars, to the red irises of the eyes.

The figure smiled as it listened to the screams of pain.

Alex too, smirked in his sleep, otherwise motionless beneath his bed covers. To him, the nightmare had now morphed into a pleasant dream of revenge.

**Earth, Solaris system. 1200 light years from Sol and Alpha Centuari.**

The sun was setting over a now peaceful cityscape. The thatched roofing of the buildings gave a repetitive pattern to the city rooftops. Overhead, the occasional massive stone viaducts loomed, stretching on for miles and intersecting at different areas of the city. Along it, Trams were pushed by men, aided by their unique abilities of manipulating the Earth.

Indeed, in the city, there was a feeling of peacemaking, particularly in the upper wealth areas of the city, where some very important individuals were currently meeting to discuss proper trade agreements between this world's three nations.

Inside the Earth Kingdom Council chamber, Zuko, an 18 year old man with a large scar over his left eye, had been struggling with settling an agreement with the Earth Kingdom officials. Needless to say, relations between their nation and the Fire nation were healing, but were still tense. Off to one side of the chamber, his companions to the meeting were struggling to follow, remain interested, or in one case, stay awake.

16 year old Katara elbowed her brother, 17 year old Sokka, to wake him up, as his snoring was becoming slightly too loud. On his other side, Suki shook her head amusedly as he jerked awake. On Katara's other side, 14 year old Aang had been struggling to remain focused, but his girlfriend's action on her brother had caused him to laugh, which he just managed to keep suppressed to a mild snorting. On he other hand, 14 year old Toph had made no effort the whole time to make it seem she was interested, and was now more interested in the dirt under her fingernails.

Katara and Sokka were siblings, both sharing the same blue eyes and brown hair. They had lost their mother, Kya, in a fire nation raid on their home in the Southern Water Tribe when Katara was 4 and Sokka was 6. They had come searching for the reported waterbender, who their mother claimed was herself to protect Katara. She died to save her daughter. 4 years later, their father , Hakoda, went off with other tribe warriors to fight the fire nation in the Earth Kingdom.

When Katara and Sokka were 14 and 16 respectively, they found Aang, the Avatar and the last Airbender, frozen in an iceberg while canoe fishing. It turned out he had run away with his flying bison, Appa, before the Air nomad massacre, as he did not want to be taken from his master and mentor, Gyatso. He got caught in a storm, and went into the avatar state to freeze himself, where he stayed for 100 years.

Seeing that their fates were now intertwined, the two accompanied Aang up to the North Pole to find a waterbending teacher. Along the way, Zuko pursued them, set on capturing the Avatar to regain his honour, and let his father accept him again for speaking out of turn in a war meeting. Upon arrival at the North Pole, the three managed to repel a massive siege by the Fire Navy there, in which Admiral Zhao was killed by Aang in the Avatar state.

Later, they would search the Earth Kingdom for an Earthbending teacher, where they found Toph, an impressively gifted blind earthbender. She was misunderstood by her parents, and after attempting to convince them to accept her as not weak due to her blindness, she ultimately ran away with Aang and the gang. After this, their next big journey step was losing Appa, where they trekked through a desert and to Ba Sing Seh, in order to locate him eventually, also exposing a coup led by Fire princess Azula, and eventually a re-emerged Zuko. Aang was killed in the attack, but was healed while escaping on Appa by Katara's extraordinary healing abilities.

They spent the next few months hiding within the fire nation. Until the solar eclipse, where a failed attack on the Fire nation capital took place. The attack had been found out by Azula, and Firelord Ozai had taken refuge. After the attack, Zuko had set to join the group of the Avatar, eventually earning the rust of each person by accompanying them on various excursions.

It was during Sozin's comet that the war ended, when Zuko and Katara jointly defeated Azula, and Aang defeated Ozai by stripping him of his firebending.

Ever since then, they had worked ceaselessly to restore order and peace to the world in any way they could, staving small rebellions and resolving issues and making agreements.

Unfortunately, peace arranging meant sitting through boring political and trade meetings such as this one. Even worse was that the day went by with little actual progress, even after 5 hours of talks. However, it was worth it all, in order to promote peace and order among this society.

Little was it known that their world would play a part in a war much bigger that the one they just escaped from.

This is xisinj64, reporting live that I'm back! ****ing school is keeping me busy, and I have this story properly set up for a much more in depth look at the story. Yes I brought in Avatar the last airbender, which I had been intending since the start of this trilogy. Please leave comments and give helpful advice on my storytelling style.

Just a comment on something I noticed about Avatar the Last Airbender: Waterbenders can heal wounds by using water and unique abilities granted at birth. This is akin to what homeopathic medicine is CLAIMED to do. However, as anyone who knows about homeopathic medicine knows, it's a load of bull**** that water heals. Personally, I'd rather have 20 needles stuck into me than take up constant bathing.

Yours faithfully, brigadier sir xisinj64 [deceased]

PS, AUUGH! [falls over dead]


	2. Chapter 2

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 2: A new desire and the first acts.**

**1 month later, 10th August 2899**

**Teranthos Nebula, Emancipator**

Alex knelt before his master, eager to hear how he had progressed in his new training this past month.

During the month's training, Alex had been granted new equipment to use. The KI operated a ranking based system on what equipment their members used. Basically, higher ranks had access to better tech. Alex now had an improved battle suit, which still included the mechanical limb enhancers inside. These, added with Alex's now greatly enhanced biolimb strength, could easily make Alex unmatched among humans in strength, speed and endurance. Also, he retained his iconic weapons, two double longswords, each a vibroblade able to be coated in a blood-red plasma layer. These weapons could cut through almost anything on full setting, and could now recharge by linking directly to Alex's internal fusion reactor. Along with this, Alex was able to equip a myriad of other weapons. Also, Alex's turbofan pack was upgraded to fly at higher speeds, now able to fly at near 500 mph, and was limited only by the power supply from his internal fusion reactor.

His new biolimb arms could hide small to medium powered weapons inside the lower arm sections, deploying them through reclosable hardpoints, which blended perfectly with the skin. In addition, the upper arms could carry a weapon each too. In a sense, alex could carry his swords and four weapons and his two shoulder dart launchers at the same time.

However, one top secret new piece of tech was one of the newer abilities Norstith had taught him. It made the cloaking technology and the retractable wings of the old turbofan pack redundant, which was why Alex had abandoned such unnecessary equipment.

The suit itself similar to Alex's old suit, except it was a battle suit and flight suit all in one. It could be atmospherically pressurized for hostile environments, and also featured Gee-suit features to increase his resistance to excessive G-forces. The main difference was that the red patterns now formed an X shape on Alex's chest and back, and also decorated his limbs too. The suit was black overall, and the red colours could be changed to black also to blend in. But the main difference was the helmet.

Now, instead of a blackened flight helmet, a single, domed helmet surrounded Alex's head. The transparisteel helmet was blackened, only allowing sight to be seen from inside the helmet. Inside it, a HUD and internal communications screen presented Alex with detailed information on any environment he was in. Beneath the black dome, a dark grey frame, almost like a lower jawbone, surrounded the bottom rim of the helmet.

If the old, fully suited Alex was dangerous, this one was a hellish nightmare to be against.

Alex knelt before Norstith, as the latter began to note the former's progress.

"You showed considerable drive to improve in all areas. Your military and general knowledge are excellent, your close quarters combat abilities have significantly improved since compared to your previous body, and your long range weapons skills have improved slightly, mainly in accuracy and different weapons usage knowledge. Your aptitude for the new top secret equipment is phenomenal, and is almost on par with my own after such a short time. How you use it in the field is up to you, but I expect great results when you do."

"Does this mean I pass?"

Norstith stared blankly at him, surprised that his apparently smart apprentice asked that:

"Wasn't that question obviously answered a few seconds ago?"

"Sorry, just checking to make sure. One thing you taught me, scrutinize and question every detail until absolutely sure of its validity."

"Fair enough. I am proud to say you have surpassed all expectations."

Alex smirked and rose to his feet, shaking Norstith's clawed hand as he stood up. As soon as the handshake ended, Norstith walked over to the projector table, saying as he went:

"Now that you are one of our most skilled members now, we can get you to work. A mission has come up which suits your operational abilities. A large band of pirates have split and joined both sides of the conflict, aligning with the UIP and the Alliance under employment as a mercenary force."

"Why a band of pirates? Surely a more formidable target would suit my skills?"

"In this case, these pirates are formidable. They posses experimental black market weaponry and vehicles, and their involvement on both sides shall only prolong and enhance the fighting. Also, I figured that this organization of pirates may appeal to the part of you that desires revenge."

"Why would these pirates have anything to do with Quirinth, Trion and Sru'sky?"

"Not them, your birth parents and sister. This group of pirates were who the pirates who killed your family were a part of. Because of their greed and corruption, Anthony, your father, Valerie, your mother and Diane, your sister, died."

At this, Alex's fist began to tighten until he actually felt it in the limited nerve receptors in his biolimb hands. A primordial anger and lust for justice resurfaced, and now Alex was set on his mission.

"What must be done?"

"They have a strategic outpost, located on a large asteroid in the Haenkyo system, on the UIP Alliance space border. This is not their base of operations, but is critically important to their mercenary operations. If this war is to not escalate further, you must destroy this outpost. Leave only those who will not rally groups against the KI, leave them traumatized if you must, or kill them all. Be creative, my apprentice, use your newfound abilities to bring justice on those that caused your abandonment on Pandora all those years ago!"

"I shall fulfil your request to the letter, my master."

1 day later, a task force left the Teranthos nebula, a group of 1 cruiser, 3 destroyers and 4 escort corvettes. Aboard the cruiser, the Dark Hunter contemplated how he should regain his reputation, as the fear of a visit from him would help in installing justice in liberated worlds.

**12th August 2899**

**Haenkyo system, asteroid pirate base. [warning, graphic]**

"Unmarked shuttle approaching hanger bay sir." Said the communications officer. On the command centre, the Pirate commander, a hardened, well built human man, nodded, and said: "That's our client coming in to land now. They wish to remain anonymous."

"Understood. Shuttle, approach hanger bay at these coordinates, we'll send our technicians to service your craft while you are here." The communications officer messaged the coordinates to the craft. From the other end, a translated voice, one of a Klingon, acknowledged.

The Pirate Commander smiled, this was another client from the Alliance. He was gathering intelligence form both sides, and secretly planning to sell it to the opposing side, and make a huge profit. All he did was act as a test faction for experimental weaponry, and pledged his protection of shipping convoys of both sides. He would play all the angles, for this was a mad world after all, and he wanted to cash in on it.

Aboard the shuttle, the troopers readied their weapons, fully charging the rifles, handguns and machine guns they carried. Ammunition was checked for heavy weapons, and the final armour and shield preparation measures were made.

In the front of the shuttle passenger bay, the Dark Hunter completed his checks, his armour fully sealed and in place, his built in and carried weapons ready. Turning his dozen troopers, he addressed them:

"The cruisers and destroyers will hold off reinforcement craft, and take out the shields of the base. The command bridge and barracks are our main priority, we need to preserve as much of the base as we can. Your orders are to kill anything that moves, only I and my second in command shall leave survivors."

"Why survivors? We are going to kill them all aren't we?" Asked a Klingon trooper, his raspy voice emitted to the cabin. The Dark Hunter looked, and said as if it were obvious: "How will they pass on the message that we mean business then?"

A murmur of agreement spread, and the second in command, an experienced Leg'hrul, named Morthas Krithos, said: "Watch for auto-turret defences, and our cruiser shall scan the base for the AI assistance to help us avoid being ambushed. Listen to your comm channels, it will save your life."

The target was set, and everyone was on edge as the shuttle entered the hanger bay, the semi-permeable energy barrier allowing the shuttle to enter, while keeping the hanger's air in.

Inside, the Dark Hunter closed his eyes, listening to his breathing, immersed deep in his final words before battle:

_Mother, Father, Sister. Today, I shall avenge your deaths, and these people shall never risk worsening this galaxy again._

The technicians rushed to the shuttle as it landed, readying fuel canisters. As they reached the now landed craft, the passenger door opened, revealing-

Nobody.

Confused, the technicians looked around, confused, wondering why no one was aboard. A faint footstep was heard, which drew their attention to the craft. One technician, a young Predator, moved forwards.

At the same moment, 2 destroyers, 2 corvettes and 1 cruiser, all of unknown make, dropped into space roughly 500 miles from the station. Seconds after entering the fray, one of the destroyers transmitted a powerful EMP beam, disrupting communications aboard the station.

Alarms blared in the hanger, as an attack siren rang out. Panicking, the technicians began to run. The most forward one however, shuddered as he turned. With a sickening scream and a set of horrible snaps of breaking bone and flesh, the technicians all whirled around to see his four mandibles of his mouth gone, the technician screaming, begging for an end as the blood cascaded out of his face. Behind him, a dark armoured figure roughly human sized appeared, having been cloaked, and dropped the four ripped mandibles to the floor, the blood still staining his gloves. His right arm raised, he blew the predator in the head with his built in plasma rifle.

Behind him, before the other technicians could run, troopers ran out, shooting them, reducing the other of the handful technicians to fried corpses. The first technician on the floor, the Dark Hunter began to run forwards, heading for the access corridor, his dozen troopers behind him, with his 2nd in command Morthas Krithos right beside him.

"Seal the corridors and hangers! Kill the intruders!" Bellowed the pirate commander.

"No good sir, the EMP signal from the destroyer is blocking our systems. No comms, no sensors, no door controls, nothing! They're military equipped!" Yelled a panicking command officer, her tattooed Romulan face fearful.

On the rapidly blanking security feeds, the dozen troopers split up, 6 heading with the 2nd in command, a Leg'hrul of all things, the other 6 with the dark armoured leader. They were heading down both station halves, splitting up, in a move to drive the crew to death or further to the other end of the station, towards where they were now.

Outside, the pirate corvettes that dropped out of superlight speed were met with the railguns and heavy lasers of the KI fleet destroyer and cruiser. The second destroyer was diverting all power to the EMP jamming, but still fired its missiles.

100 miles from the base, one corvette was ripped in half as a volley of laser fire and a well placed railgun round tore through, the small amount of antimatter in its antimatter catalysed fusion engines enhancing the explosion noticeably. Communications between the pirate ships was down, only does on the same ship could hear the screams of the crews.

Storming through what looked like the mess hall, the dark hunter led his 6 man team half through. On the other side of the hall, the doors opened to reveal a 8 man team, opening fire with their rifles, and even machine guns. Explosives were hazardous to use aboard a station, unless it was significantly large or armoured.

As his team opened fire from behind him, using overturned tables as cover, the Dark Hunter cloaked himself, and headed towards the fray.

Rapidly running to them, around the crossfire, he leapt over tables, unseen, watching his troopers fiercely repel the pirates. They were outclassed, even with their experimental weapons. One of them fired a sonic cannon, managing to score a glancing hit on one of the KI troops, knocking him backwards, and hitting another fully in the arm. The condensed soundwaves broke the Kro'nogri's arm, making the armour covered reptilian man roar in pain.

By the time the Dark Hunter reached the pirates group, they had lost 4 of eight people., and one was wounded, the Sril'sask laying on his back in pain. Leaping up, the Dark Hunter declaoked, and opened fire with his rifle from the side, punching through the armour and flesh of one female Human pirate. As she fell down screaming, the Dark Hunter landed in front of her, firing a point blank shot into one other trooper's face, blowing the head right off the Predator's body. As the other two soldiers turned to fire on him, the Dark Hunter leapt at them, kicking them to the floor on the chests, and stabbed his 2 vibro and plasma swords into their stomachs. Not giving them reprieve, he ripped the 2 swords sideways, halfway severing their torsos down the middle, and he turned to the female human he wounded, ignoring the croaking of the 2 pirates he left. Standing over her, the human still screaming from her shoulder and stomach burns and holes, the Dark Hunter ripped off her helmet, revealing dishevelled blond hair, terrified brown eyes and sweaty skin. Raising his mechanical, armour covered leg, he smashed his foot down, silencing her screams, crushing her skull and brain in a red and pink mess beneath his foot, the skull fragments cracking as he repositioned his foot.

The 4 non wounded KI troopers came over, the fifth helping the broken armed Kro'nogri further back. They looked at the mess of the human female, her head now reduced to pulp, then at what the Dark Hunter stared at, the lone surviving Sril'sask. He was frozen with fear, his arm plasma hits forgotten in the panic he felt in the face of these monsters.

The Dark Hunter turned to one trooper: "Him. He'll be a survivor, patch him up, and then knock him out, he'll wake up long after we're gone. The rest of you carry on with me, we still have the command bridge to get to."

The dark armoured man left with 3 troopers, leaving the wounded Kro'nogri, his caretaker, and the one trooper who restrained the Sril'sask, peeling away his armour to bandage and treat the plasma round marks with medical gel. After the brief treatment, he deployed his arm mounted dart launcher, firing a sedative round into the Sril'sask's neck.

Within the few seconds it took for the Sril'sask to go unconscious, his 'doctor', the other caretaker trooper and the broken armed Kro'nogri began to head back to the shuttle bay, their duty in the front lines done.

Within 20 minutes, the two teams regrouped, in front of the doors of the command bridge. Morthas looked at the doors, commenting: "Electronically locked, 10 centimetres of reinforced steel."

The Dark Hunter looked, and said: "Let's end this."

Inside, the Pirate commander cowered, his fellow officers fearful, put their weapons drawn. At the door, no sound was heard. Then, a small hole, burning through the steel door, until a single long blade punctured, gently turning around and around, forming a small, circular hole. After a minute, once the hole was formed to 10 centimetres wide, the shining blade withdrew.

A few moments, and then a series of clicks, and some objects being shoved through the hole. Long cylinders, roughly 6 centimetres wide and 20 centimetres long, 4 of them. 2 seconds after landing, they exploded, flooding the room with a noxious gas, causing the eyes of the officers to tear up.

Then, another series of objects hit the floor, as 2 cylinders of similar size were thrown in the hole. The Commander peeked over, and saw through the haze of gas that the attackers were using a very old, gruesome trick.

3 seconds, and the room was ablaze.

Retreating from the hole, the troopers, Morthas and the Dark Hunter were illuminated by the jet of flame escaping from the hole. The gas grenades and incendiary grenades had turned the command bridge, the last place of any non-attacked pirates, into a blast furnace. The jet died, and the screams of agony sounded from inside the command room.

Scans showed that no one escaped the blast, and if anyone was still alive, the flammable gas they used was lethal when inhaled anyway. The KI force was not worried, they were wearing hard suits and breathed air filters, so any gas that wasn't ignited, which was hardly any, wouldn't get them.

The task was done, there were no other survivors aboard the station besides the four that Alex had left unconscious. Morthas had been too quick and efficient with his kills to leave any alive, and so Alex's brutal methods ensured their reputation would live with those 4.

Reaching the shuttle bay, the KI team loaded up, departing the now near lifeless station. They freed up the communications by stopping the destroyer's EMP burst, and now set off, no casualties, to return to the Teranthos Nebula, a job well done.

On board, Morthas sat to himself, scanning any technology data they had acquired though scans of weapons, such as the sonic weapons the pirates used. Unorthodox, and unexpected, making them effective tools of combat.

Alex meanwhile was never feeling better. He felt elated, complete, ecstatic, never before had such slaughter ever felt so right to him. It was addictive, it was vile, yet it was justice, and it prevented the war from escalating. His parents and sister were avenged, and he could rest knowing those who robbed him of a normal life were now gone.

**14th August 2899**

**Ki'ristalis, **

On the UIP capital world, a fierce rainstorm raged across the midday sky.

In the shared apartment, Trion sat on the larger sofa, cycling through new reports in his inbuilt web connection. He was pleased that more help was being given to the UIP, but would have preferred it not to come from pirates. However, there was one strange report about an attack, on a key strategic outpost in the Haenkyo system, of the very same pirate organization.

Their base had been completely destroyed in a surprise attack, a fleet of cruisers blasting through their defences and a small group killing almost everyone aboard the asteroid station. Those who had survived had given grim accounts of a mass slaughter, much of it done by one person. The people were psychologically traumatized, and out of 8 survivors, 2 had committed suicide by the time these interviews were taken. This attack had greatly shattered the morale and strength of the pirate mercenary force, and the article went on to talk of the group planning to pull out of helping the UIP.

As Sru'sky entered, Trion quickly brought up a holographic display of the news report, and called over to her:

"Sru'sky, what do you make of this?" Walking over briskly, looking oddly up at Trion, Sru'sky examined the new report. After seeing the details of the attack, she looks on edge.

"It can't be the Alliance, they wouldn't attack a group allying with them."

"But don't forget, some of them also allied with the UIP. They're mercenaries, not service personnel. I suspect that either the Alliance attacked them out of anger for them aligning with us too, as they may pose a risk of leaking information."

"So you think the Alliance attacked them to warn them of betraying them?"

"No, the attack fleet wasn't UIP or Alliance. It was unmarked, so they don't know the organization they worked for."

At this moment, Quirinth walked in, a scowl on her face as the rainwater seeped into her skin, as she had been caught out in the rain when it started half an hour ago. She looked over at them, her mandibled mouth clicking angrily:

"What are you two looking at?" As she came over, she stopped beside Sru'sky, who sidestepped slightly to avoid her shoes from getting wet. As Quirinth read the report though, her scowl disappeared, and was replaced with a look of anxiety.

"Oh no."

Sru'sky looked down at the Predator in surprise: "What?"

"This group that attacked the base. I think they're the group that Alex worked for secretly that he told us about."

Trion switched off the hologram, and stood up, realization dawning on him:

"Of course! That group's vessels were never marked, like these ones, and they did not affiliate with the UIP or the Alliance."

"So we're dealing with terrorists again? Why did they suddenly decide to launch a big strike now? They've been launching protests and small riots that's for sure, but now they're back to mass attacks." Quirinth pondered.

Sru'sky wisely suggested: "Maybe they adopted a low profile for 5 months so they could regain their strength and forces, bring in new people to their forces too."

Quirinth looked up at the storming sky outside the window, and said: "Either way, this war is about to heat up again by the looks of it."

**27th August 2899**

**Carinia system, Planet Carinia C**

Two weeks had passed since the successful annihilation of the pirate base on Haenkyo, and now Alex was on his fourth mission since his rebirth.

He had been tasked with destroying a UIP base, recently established on Carinia C 7 weeks ago, in spite of numerous protests and riots from the local population. This infringement of the rights of a people to further war was not to be tolerated. His orders were clear. Destroy the base, and as usual, no collateral or civilian damage.

As the fleet dropped out of warped space, Alex saw the orbiting defence fleet around Carinia C. It comprised of a medium-sized military space station, a dozen missile and laser satillites, one cruiser, three destroyers, four frigates and six patrol corvettes.

_Perhaps what we are about to unleash could be called overkill._

Overkill was right. The fleet that Alex was a part of was comprised of a Battleship, the _Liberator_, measuring 2000m long. With it were two 1700m long cruisers, two 1400m long destroyers, three 700m long frigates, four 500m long cargo ships and 8 escort corvettes.

In the KI fleet, Alex was one of the senior members. The KI operated like any military, by promotions and ranking based on ability and experience. Alex's relatively short but intense war career limited him to being one of 2 generals present in the fleet. Alex would be in charge of the ground operation only, whilst the other general, an elderly Kro'nogri male he had not bothered to learn the name of, led the space offensive and commanded the overall mission.

Even with the UIP space station and satellites, it was clear who was at an advantage.

Within 10 seconds of entering real space, the KI fleet had opened fire on the space station, pummelling the station's shields with high intensity laser blasts and solid projectiles and missiles. It took the defending fleet a full 2 minutes to turn their broadside guns to face the KI fleet, during which time the space stations' shields had begun to be overwhelmed against the fleet's firepower.

Alex looked on at the battle, contemplating whether he should join the fray in his fighter. However, seeing that the fight was very one sided here, and that the enemy fighters were being quickly dealt with by the fleet's lasers and missiles, he dismissed the thought, attractive as it was. No, he would sit back and watch the fight, and wait for the ground assault to begin.

_Ironic._ Thought the Dark Hunter. _This is almost exactly the same situation as with Rothrian three years ago, except this time, I'm on the attacking side._

Fate sure had a funny way of turning the tables of things.

The entire space battle was a farce for the UIP. It took only 20 minutes for all of the satellites to be destroyed, along with their cruiser, 2 of three destoyers, 2 of four frigates and all of the corvettes. The remaining destroyer, 2 frigates and the space station had been immobilized by EMP bursts and extensive engine damage. For good measure, an intense jamming signal was being broadcasted, blocking all communications to outside of the system.

No UIP reinforcements would be coming until the KI fleet had left.

By now, Alex was aboard one of the cargo vessels, waiting for it to land on the planet surface. The large cargo vessels would land their ground forces on the planet, and destroy the entire base within hours. An orbital bombardment of the base would be carried out once the power generator had been shut down.

To this, Alex was thankful. They were only planning on shutting down the power plant temporarily, as it was powering the local city also. They only needed the power off while they attacked the fortified base. At this apparently kind battle gesture, Alex laughed silently to himself, wondering:_ The media has branded us terrorists and destructive people with no sympathy for others. What terrorists would prioritise minimal civilian impact in their operations? F I say we're anything, we're civilized enforcers of justice."_

With a shudder, the cargo craft suddenly landed, all of the troopers and robotic troopers readying themselves for the assault. As the cargo door opened, Alex placed his black helmet over his head, completing his savage visage. He then yelled to those inside in his deep, gravely electronic voice: "Everyone stick to the plan, and we'll be out of here within hours! All units in Gamma battalion will head to capture and shut down the power generator, and then fall back to the transports when we leave! You must hold the generator at all costs, otherwise the bombardment is useless! Delta and Eta battalions, you will follow me into the base once the bombardment finishes! We need to kill everyone inside, except for a few survivors to pass on the message! I will delegate that task to myself! Remember, leave no one alive, and no harming civilians at all!"

"Yes sir!"

The door was now fully open, and Alex rushed the forces out, watching as the troopers, robots and light tanks rolled out, ready for a swift and destructive raid on the planet's immorally established base.

**28th August 2899**

**Ki'ristalis**

"It's happened again girls."

Quirinth looked up from her breakfast, while Sru'sky came into the kitchen from the sitting room. Trion entered, his towering silver frame filling the kitchen, before he projected a news report on a holoscreen onto the table.

Another unidentified attack, this time on a newly established UIP base on the Carinia system. It had been the subject of controversy, as there had been mass protests and riots against the base being built. Now, though, in a lightning raid, the planet's base, space defence infrastructure and fleet had been all but completely annihilated by the same force responsible for the attacks these past two weeks, including the Haenkyo pirate base destruction.

It was now apparent that this force was an obvious threat to the UIP.

What was good news was that one of the leaders of the organization had been identified. All of the survivors of the ground attack had been incapacitated by the same person, who was seen commanding the forces. The only knowledge about him was visual appearance. He wore a jet black, smooth featureless helmet. His body armour was extensive, a black and red trimmed armour completely covering his body, and he used a single vibrosword in combat, in tandem with a myriad of weapons.

Thankfully, no civilians were harmed at all. In fact, that was what was strange about these attacks. For their ferocity and brutality, they never harmed anything other than strategic targets. These moves were not of a terrorist organization, but of a more organized, third opponent in the war instead.

Quirinth looked at the holoscreen, frowning at the description of the leader of the force: "There's no background information on him?"

Trion shook his head: "Nothing. No name, the armour is custom made, no records of him in the UIP at all. We only know he is either a Human, Romulan or Vulcan, judging by the physical description."

Sru'sky wondered for a moment: "What could they possible have to drive them to fight against both sides of the war? And why can't they be tracked?"

Quirinth figured this out: "They used a jamming signal to block all signals, they must have gotten a hold of one or more very high power jamming devices. The people they attacked couldn't track them at all. And quite frankly, they split up also when they flee the battles, so their force is harder to find."

Trion and Sru'sky looked at her, and Sru'sky asked: "That wasn't in the news report. How do you know this?"

"Because I've been called up to track down this particular commander and his force."

Trion was shocked, and then demanded: "When did this happen?"

"I just got the message this morning, when I checked my messages before breakfast. I was going to tell both of you when you were both here. That information was included as part of a preliminary briefing."

Sru'sky looked worriedly at her "But why only you? We're a team, we work best together."

"They needed a small, elite group to track down the attacking force. They recruited me because compared to you two, I can go undercover more effectively."

Trion looked at his feet, and muttered: "Harsh words, but undeniably true. So when do you leave?"

"Two days from now. I've got today and tomorrow off before I have to ship out."

Sru'sky then suggested offhandedly: "Well then, maybe we can have some fun before you go out on that mission. Make the best of the time we have left, 'cause who knows how long that mission could last."

Trion smartly commented: "Most likely four months before they call it off for lack of success."

Quirinth then retorted while laughing: "Hey, I think that was a rhetorical question, metal head."

**Ki'ristalis, multiplex square, late evening**

The three stepped out of the multiplex, talking animatedly about the holofilm they had just seen. It had been an adventure/horror film about an explorer who discovers an extinct civilization, and subsequently unleashes a plague that had wiped out the civilization also. He ends up fighting off his other exploration team members in survival, as the plague drove them insane and bloodthirsty. It had been nominated many awards since its release.

Trion ended up discussing any unrealistic elements in the film, such as the fact a virus could drive people insane like that being farfetched at the level they depicted. Sru'sky thought it was an overall gripping film, while Quirinth had thought some of the acting seemed a little cheesy at times.

They ended up going into the small diner, at the base of their apartment tower, for their dinner. After ordering their food, and getting their drinks, they all sat down at a window seat overlooking the busy streets below.

Trion was busy commenting on the night out in itself, his large cube of energon sitting half consumed in his hand as he spoke:

"-and I still can't believe they gave us the wrong coordinates for the drop point. Remember what happened?"

Sru'sky laughed: "Yes, we were 100 miles off course. It took us about 3 days to reach the actual drop point." Quirinth smugly remembered that mission 2 months ago: "I wonder if that colonel got demoted for that mistake? "

Trion then asked: "So I was wondering if perhaps after your mission is over Quirinth, I could take you on a trip to Cybertron? To see the sights there."

Quirinth leaned forwards, interested in what he was saying: "Oh yeah, we've never seen your homeworld, what's it like again?"

"It's a world with a blue medium sized star, and is covered in rocky canyons, plains and mountains. The cities are enormous there, they cover half of the planet. The best site to see is the Allspark."

Sru'sky was always intrigued about anything to do with Trion's race, and asked: "That is what creates much of your race? The object which to your people is like a god."

"In all respects yes. The Allspark is critical to our species's survival. Of course, after the original was destroyed nearly a millennia ago on Earth, it had to be rebuilt, which took nearly 100 years of careful planning. The creation of a new allspark and the restoration of Cybertron is what ended the Autobot-Decepticon war, that and Megatron's final death."

Quirinth then said an interesting statement: "You know, its weird that the two races of aliens in the known galaxy that are the physically the strongest individually, the Cybertronians and Na'vi, are dependant on specific objects for their survival culturally and even as a species."

Trion and Sru'sky exchanged a glance, realizing what she was getting at: "I see. The other races evolved independently of any actual physical support or objects of such importance."

Quirinth then gestured to their food: "And yet, look at the difference in appearance and features. Trion is easily 5 feet taller than you, and about 9 feet taller than me. And he's a low medium size among his race."

Trion looked at Sru'sky again, the reiteration of their differences causing a slight downcast appearance to appear momentarily in his optics. He may be vastly different to her, but it was that among other things that just caused Sru'sky to further attract his attention and desire even more so. He was downcast, knowing that his first crush was one he could probably never be with.

Across the table, Sru'sky managed to hide a saddened face from both of them, realizing a similar thing to Trion. He was one of the kindest and most humble people she had ever met, and was always looking out for her best interests anywhere they went. But, the two were incompatible, and a relationship between them was questionable at best. Despite interspecies relationships being common, there were some relationships that were called into question. Funnily enough, it was not due to ethical issues, but more about how they could manage it. Fro instance, Sru'sky thought, how would she ever be able to make love to Trion when he was made of metal and would probably crush her, and how could she ever-

Sru'sky shook her head slightly, preventing these thoughts from progressing to any level near to the erotic.

It was 2 days later, and Quirinth's shuttle departed, to meet and take aboard a small battalion of troopers and detectives, to investigate the scenes of the atrocities committed by the unknown forces.

For 4 days they scanned wrecks at the different worlds, all having been destroyed within the space of two weeks. No extra survivors were found, along with no traces or hints at the identity of the assaulters.

But their snooping around would come to draw attention to themselves.

**Mykris, LZ-12 system. 3rd September 2899**

As Alex stood in the communications centre of the Battleship _Liberator. _He watched a live message from his master, from the Emancipator's communicatiosn centre, in the Teranthos Nebula, 1000 light years away. The Leg'hrul addressed the situation to Alex:

"**The investigation is comprised of a small battalion of troopers and detectives, led by a female predator responsible for your former body's death."**

Alex's right fist tightened, the mechanical servos groaning slightly under the pressure. With a snarl, Alex spoke that hated name: "Quirinth. She is a fool to try to find me."

"**That is precisely what she shall get then. She has proven herself to be an obstacle in the way of true justice, and must be incapacitated, and prevented from further meddling in our affairs."**

"I would have great pleasure in unleashing myself upon her. I need to repay the favour after all. While she did make me stronger by killing me effectively, I cannot forgive her for abandoning me as she did, and committing that monstrous act against me."

"**You are in luck then. I ordered your ship to station around Mykris for the purpose that Quirinth is headed there now to continue searching for your fleet."**

"So she's not stupid at least. She must have followed the ion trails left by the engines from the Liberator to this system. When can I expect her then?"

"**Her vessel should be arriving in the system in 2 hours now."**

"Excellent, I shall make this an encounter to remember."

The transmission ended there, and Alex turned around and headed for hanger route, to board his fighter. He would meet her on the surface of Mykris, and engage her and her lackeys there. He would make her suffer as he did, when she left him to die.

Now, he would exact his revenge.

Within 1 hour, the sleek fighter had landed on the planet, inside an industrial area of a small city. His fighter blended with the environment, using cover under a pile of trash as a disguise. The battleship had stationed itself on the opposite side of a neighbouring planet, to mask its signature.

Meanwhile, a black and red trimmed armoured figure vanished among the warehouses and factories, blending in with the shadows almost seamlessly, as twilight descended upon the city.

Another hour passed, and a small UIP shuttle landed near to the city's industrial area, having picked up reports of sightings of a sleek fighter landing there by locals, despite no scanners detecting it. The battalion disembarked, and Quirinth stepped out onto the planet surface, fully clad in her silver-grey armour. She still used the mask with a V-shaped visor, and her shoulder mounted plasma rifle cannon and wrist blades were her weapons of choice again.

As night fell, Quirinth led her force into the abandoned industrial district, many of the employees having left for the night off work, or for going out of business. The battalion marched quietly into the deathly still streets, unaware of the horrors the darkness of the night was hiding from them.

**Hey readers, I decided to extend this chapter for the fact that I felt the need to emphasize the change in tone of this story's beginning, and the brutality of Alex's change in tack since his death.**

**Same chapter, its just extended to include the first of his revenge acts, one which I feel was omitted when it was quite significant in his Knight Initiative career.**

**Please review, this is my least reviewed or viewed story for some reason, I had the inspiration to do this only recently.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 3: Vengeful evil.**

**Mykris, LZ-12 system, 3****rd**** September 2899**

In the industrial sector, all was quiet. Not a single sign of life was around, and only the daring brigade of troopers now searching the sector were moving among this desolate, inactive industrial maze. On both sides, abandoned, darkened factories and warehouses fenced them in, while debris and sand covered the concrete floor below from a sandstorm the afternoon before.

Quirinth scanned her surroundings with her helmet and visor's on board HUD, keeping an eye out for any movement at all. Behind her, the detectives kept a weather eye for any clues, and the soldiers checked their surroundings for danger. Only the blowing dust of the sand covered streets gave off signs of movement.

Suddenly, one of the detectives, a Vulcan called out: "There, in the alley!" When they looked, they saw a KI infantry robot standing there, drawing weapons to fire. It quickly fired off a burst, killing one of the troopers with a headshot. Before it could turn to retreat, Quirinth and another trooper, a male human, shot it jointly in the torso and head, destroying it.

The group cautiously approached the robot, leaving the dead soldier behind temporarily. As they came up to the robot, they saw that its tracks led back through the sand. The Vulcan detective noted the tracks, and said: "A unit like that will be from a larger group. I think we may have found who we're searching for. Check the robot's memory files, and see who its commander is." On this command, a tech soldier bent over and placed a scanner on the robot's head. After 20 seconds, the scanner showed images on its holo-screen. On it, the image of the commander.

Quirinth looked ahead, and declared to the group: "C'mon. our prey is up ahead, we'll follow the tracks." A she led the troopers forwards, she order one of them to carry the dead body back to the shuttle, for them to transport when they leave. As the trooper carried the body back, Quirinth led her group deeper into the Labyrinth of industrial factories and warehousing.

On the rooftops, a miniscule camera drone recorded Quirinth and the group, transmitting images of their every move back to its commander.

Inside one of the warehouses, the Dark Hunter watched the group come closer and closer to his hiding spot. He mentally thought of how the robot drone had been perfect to give them bait to lure them to him. Soon, he would have his revenge.

As Quirinth rounded another corner, she immediately ducked back around, avoiding a volley of plasma fore where she had just been. She had seen a large warehouse, and in front of it stood two more KI robot troopers. Briefly, she had seen the footprints lead back into the warehouse.

Quickly reacting, the troopers armed their weapons, and one of them ran out into the open, ducking behind a pile of crates, drawing the robots' fire. As the robots fired, the covered troopers aimed and fired his targeting laser at one of the robots, pointing a green laser dot on the robot's body.

Behind the cover, another trooper finished setting up an automatic mortar launcher. He locked it into place, and started it up. Immediately, the sensors locked onto the laser point, transmitted from the targeting computer of the trooper's rifle. The launcher lined up, and fired off a round towards the target. The explosive shell soared over a rooftop, and landed within two inches of the targeted robot.

The explosion destroyed the first robot completely, and the second lost the use of of an arm and a leg, causing it to topple over, scrambling to get upright. Before it could aim at anything, the covered trooper jumped up and shot it in the head with a well placed burst of plasma fire. As the robot slumped over, the trooper signalled the all clear, and the group immediately ran out.

As Quirinth stepped over the destroyed robots, she looked at the footprints. They led into an access door in the warehouse, used by staff only. She then turned to the group, and began issuing orders: "He's in there. We need to split ourselves up to take him out and prevent him from escaping if he tries to." A Romulan detective then spoke up, and said: "I'm checking orbital scans of the area, and this warehouse only has one entrance or exit at all." He pointed at the front of the building, where the access door and the main vehicle door were closed. Nodding, Quirinth pointed to 6 of her troopers and 2 detectives, including the Romulan: "You 8, stay out here and guard the exit. Shoot anything not friendly that comes out. The rest of you come with me."

"Yes Ma'am" The 8 ducked behind any cover they could find, ready to shoot at any escapers, while the other dozen people walked into the access door, ready to tackle any threat head on.

Inside, Quirinth noted the dilapidated look of the building, and saw that the building was barely lit at all, only by rays of sunlight coming through the building. She led her troopers and the Vulcan detective through the hallway, and down set a small set of steps which led to a doorway. Quirinth then activated her cloaking field, and carefully opened the door.

Inside, the warehouse interior was pitch black, a vast room 50 metres long and 25 metres wide. As the dim light flooded the dark space, only a few containers and boxes were seen, with most if not all of the warehouse being empty. Carefully, she stepped into the darkness, while issuing a text command to her group to follow her in, and only communicate through text. Inside, Quirinth scanned the walls, and saw a power box nearby. She walked over, and to her puzzlement, saw that the wires had been roughly cut, perhaps by some vermin animal of sorts.

All of the group were now inside, and they were activating their helmet lights, as Quirinth called out, still under cloaking: "We know you're here. Come out an surrender peacefully and we won't harm you!" No response, the sound of her commands echoed uselessly in the dark abyss.

Within that abyss, the dark hunter began to move towards the group, silently and under cloaking. His armour would hide any body heat, and his cloaking field would hide him from view. He was truly invisible.

Behind the group, the door began to swing shut, and the group looked around in shock as the door was suddenly slammed shut, the sound echoing seemingly forever. Now, only the pale yellow outline of the door, made by the sun's rays in the hallway, showed where the exit was. Aside from that faint glimmer, the whole warehouse was now completely darkened.

Quirinth looked around in panic, her infra-red and visual scanners detecting no presence here at all. Then, she heard it, the faint sound of footsteps echoing in the dark abyss of the room. The others also heard it, and nervously began to point their weapons wherever they heard it.

Then it started.

Suddenly, the Vulcan detective began to yell in pain, which developed into a terrified scream of intense agony. He fell to the floor, spasming in agony, while the lights of all present were suddenly turned off by some unknown force. In their night vision helmet settings, they saw the Vulcan on the floor, and horrible streams of green blood were pouring out of what looked like multiple stab wounds, and more were appearing, as if something was eating and tearing at him from the inside. The Vulcan then gave a last guttural cry, his face contorted in a nightmarish display of the greatest pain imaginable, before he slumped to the floor, dead from blood loss and internal injuries.

Traumatized, everyone stumbled backwards from the body, not knowing how to explain what had just happened.

Then, the rest of the troopers began to scream, as they felt something burning and ripping them apart form the inside, while an unseen force ruptured blood vessels and tore apart organs from the inside. Quirinth stood by, helpless as she saw, in her night vision, her troopers killed by something they could not fight against, and as each one stopped screaming, Quirinth slowly sunk down, having backed against the access door in the warehouse.

Finally, the last of the screaming stopped, and the entire warehouse fell silent. The floor was now stained in large puddles of red and green blood, and nearly a dozen bodies lay motionless on the floor, the life literally torn apart inside them. From the abyss, more footsteps sounded, and Qurinth looked up in fear, terrified that whatever killed them was about to get her. She looked into the abyss, her night vision doing little to help see far.

She saw a pair of glowing dots, piercing the dark abyss like miniature stars. Carefully, she deactivated her night vision, and switched to normal visual. Then, she saw nothing but the darkness, she could not even see her own hands. Only one thing was visible here.

A pair of glowing, red dots.

Mesmerized, Qurinth looked fearfully at the dots, watching them hover there motionless. Then, they flickered briefly, as if they blinked.

Then, they started to rapidly move closer.

Terror now gripping every fibre of her being, Quirinth stumbled to her feet, grasping for the door handle of the access door, as the pair of sick red eyes drew closer to her in the warehouse. Finally, she found the handle, and pulled on it hard. The door came open, and Quirinth began to run into the opening.

Then, she was violently grabbed around the neck, and thrown back into the darkness of the warehouse, landing among the blood and corpses of her brigade. As she landed, something immediately forced her into a kneeling position, restraining her hands and feet, trapping her among her dead comrades. As she knelt, someone yanked her helmet off, and by the sound of it threw it aside into the dark warehouse.

As she knelt, tears coming to her fearful yellow eyes, she saw the access door open again, and the footsteps sounded, going out into the hallway. It was then she realized:

It was going after the rest of them.

She began screaming, desperately trying to get them to hear her from in here: "No, no, NO! IT'S COMING! IT'LL KILL US ALL!"

Outside, the 2 detectives and 6 troopers sat impatiently, and had heard no sounds of a struggle or fire-fight from inside the structure. The access door stood open, as the entry group had left it, and the 8 were growing doubtful if the person they were searching for was really in here.

All of a sudden, all 8 were gripped around the neck by an unseen face, like a hand gripping them hard. They were quickly dragged screaming into the centre of the courtyard, where they were then bound together somehow by an invisible force.

In fear, the troopers panicked, and as they screamed for help, two of them choked as they felt something shoved into their mouths. Then, the 8 all had their helmets pulled off by an invisible force, and the two soldiers heard the objects in their mouths click.

The Romulan detective looked in horror as he saw the grenade pin drop from one trooper's mouth, and he made to yell: "GRENADE!" Helpless, the troopers and two detective screamed in terror, but were quickly silenced when the grenades exploded.

As the warehouse access door was moved slightly by the Dark Hunter as he entered, he looked back at his handiwork. The 8 of them were now in pieces all over the floor, their heads and torsos riddled with shrapnel and burns. Thankfully for them, he thought, their deaths were quick, unlike those inside the warehouse.

As Alex stepped into the warehouse, to finish his work with Quirinth inside, he stopped briefly as he remembered the other two troopers. One had died, and another had transported him back to their shuttle. That second trooper would probably have reached the shuttle by now, so he still had a good 20 minutes until he arrived.

As Alex opened the door to the dark warehouse, he mentally thought: _I'll let him live. I need someone to spread word of what happened here anyway. _He shut the door, and turned to look at a restrained Quirinth, held down by his unique 'abilities' he had learnt from Norstith. A brief flash of the day she mutilated him and left him to die on that skyscraper came back, and Alex, under his mask, shot Quirnth that most hate filled glare he could muster.

He started towards her.

As Quirnth watched the access door shut once more, she thought fearfully that this was her end. She began to shed silent tears, as she awaited her fate with her head facing the ground.

Then, she felt something cold lightly grasp her chin, and tilt her head up, only to see those ghoulish red eyes staring into her soul once more. The breath caught in her chest, and before her eyes, red lines began to below the eyes, forming a pattern. A red X crossed below the eyes, and as red lines illuminated, the crimson revealed outline of a black body suit began to appear. Finally, the red light revealed a face, a smooth, featureless black helmet, with a dark grey rim beneath it. The glowing red eyes were actually projections on the helmet, and disappeared as the helmet became visible.

As the room lit up with blood red light, Quiritnh saw out of the corner of her eyes the pool of red and green blood below her, and the bodies of her comrades lying forever upon the concrete.

The figure had Quirinth's chin held between a black gloved index finger and thumb, and as Quirinth stared up in horror, she heard a demonic whisper come from this thing.

"Now my prey, I shall install revenge for what you did to me in a past life." As he whispered this, Quirinth's eyes widened, and she asked in a shaky voice: "W-What? I-I don't know y-you."

The figure seemed to glare at her, and then release her chin, and growled in the same horrible voice: "You once did, before you left me to die." The helmet then seemed to melt away, as it smoothly retracted to reveal the face beneath it.

There, illuminated in the crimson markings adorning his armour, was a vicious scar on the left cheek, and the red eyes still bore the same intense rage that they had shot her when she had left him. Quirinth was lost for words, and then she snapped:

"No, it can't be. You supposed to be dead!"

"I was dead, until I was brought back."

Quirinth sobbed, as she realized he was here for her: "Please, forgive me for doing that to you! I was caught in a fit of rage, you had to be stopped!"

Alex glared at her, and said with finality: "Oh, but you see, justice can only be attained by doing all that is necessary. You were hunting me, preventing me from carrying out operations, standing in the path of true justice. So I shall 'dispose' pf you now."

"Please, don't! We all regret what had to happen to you! This isn't you! Your parents, your sister, me, Trion, we all miss you dearly!" Alex raised an eyebrow at her, and then said in a deadly whisper: "Do they now? Well its too late for that. But, for me, death is not a suitable punishment, it is more a release. So I shall leave you trapped at the brink of death, barely alive, so all you can do is remember what you did to deserve this."

The mask flipped back into place, and Alex placed a hand to Quirinth's face. Immediately, she began to scream, as a searing pain rushed through her body, spasming her limbs and body within their invisible bindings. Alex poured more electric current into his glove's conductors, until eventually releasing the female predator from his grasp.

Exhausted from the pain, and traumatized from the sight of the bodies around her, Quirnth's began to see blackness creep into her vision. Her last sight was the Dark Hunter's fist smashing into the side of her face.

His prey lay unconscious on the floor. A quick scan revealed she was in a state he had intended for her. A physical and trauma induced coma, hopefully one she would not wake up from for a very long time.

Alex deactivated her invisible bindings, and then carefully loaded Quirinth's comatose form over his shoulder, not wishing to kill her, just leave her as she was. He walked over to the vehicle door, and with a flick from his hand, the invisible bindings on the power box let go. Pressing the button on the wall, the vehicle door opened slowly, flooding the blackened warehouse with sunlight. When the door was fully open, Alex walked out, unconcerned for the sea of blood, mutilated bodies and burnt body fragments in the warehouse and its front loading yard. He looked around, and indeed saw that the trooper delivering the first dead trooper to the shuttle had not yet returned to catch up.

Alex walked into a nearby alley, coming up on his concealed fighter. He would leave the wrecks of the three robots behind, and he would abandon the recon mini-drone he had used also. Walking up to his fighter craft, he pulled aside the rubbish covering the cockpit with his free hand, and then opened the fighter canopy.

Here was where having a two seat fighter was useful. He carefully lowered Quirinth into the fighter's passenger seat, being gentle so as not to do further harm to her. With her in, he climbed into the pilot's seat, and began startup. As the fighter rumbled to life, he activated the antigrav generator, and the fighter slowly rose into the air, the rest of the rubbish falling off it as it rose up.

Satisfied with his mission's success, Alex switched on his fighter's fusion rockets, and after activating fighter cloaking, began to fly to return to the Liberator.

**23****rd**** September, Teranthos nebula, Emancipator.**

Alex knelt before his master, ready to receive his next orders. He had gone on only three missions since the massacre on Mykris. Since then, Quirinth had been closely monitored by the Emancipator's medical centre, ensuring she stayed alive. There was still no way of waking one form a coma, and it was still a natural process.

Norstith showed Alex a projection of a planet familiar to the young man: "Your next target is the world of your childhood, specifically, you are to deal a cultural blow against the UIP to shatter their morale and show them how serious the Knight Initiative is about their actions."

"Interesting, what's the target?" Norstith brought up a projection of the planet Pandora, specifically the centre of the Hallelujah mountains, at the site of the Tree of Souls. Norstith continued:

"One could say who is the target. You are to go to the centre of the Pandoran super organism known as Eywa, and deal a form of torture if you will to her. The way she is closely tied to the Na'vi will shatter morale of their species and the entire UIP. You will employ an electric shock treatment, using a carried miniature fusion reactor as a generator for the shock treatment."

Alex paused, and then said: "But, she is innocent. Why are we going out to harm something so rare and valuable?" Norstith sighed, and said: "Because she is valuable is why we are targeting her. Besides, haven't you said that you felt disheartened by Eywa, since you were never a part of the planet, yet forced to grow with her culture?"

Alex balled his mechanical hand into a fist, and he said: "I suddenly have no qualms about the mission." He then paused, and said: "But I'd like to bring a certain piece of cargo to deposit on Pandora, which I think the UIP will be eager to receive."

Norstith saw no harm in this, and said: "What cargo would that be?"

Alex smirked, and disclosed his demand.

**September 25****th****, Omaticaya clan, Pandora.**

Sru'sky sat on the ground, watching the Na'vi children running about and laughing as hey chased one another.

_Such a simpler time. _Thought Sru'sky sadly.

The 20 year old Na'vi woman then saw the children run up to Trion, who had been standing idle nearby. He stood still as the children began to use him as a climbing frame, much to his visible dismay. Sru'sky giggled at his misfortune, and saw that despite his intimidating size and power, he was a big softie at heart.

"_Shouldn't you help him?" _H'nuptec walked up behind his daughter, and he looked over while suppressing a smirk: "_I don't think Trion can stand against that many Na'vi warriors." _Laughing, Sru'sky turned to her father and said: "_Warriors? I think Trion could handle them, but children are his weakness."_

"_Maybe so, but I think that maybe we should really relieve him before he gets desperate." _H'nuptec pointed, and sure enough, Trion had slightly raised one leg and was attempting to lightly shake off some of the children, who were still scrambling about madly on his metal frame.

Sru'sky shook her head in amusement, and went over to relieve poor Trion of his burdens. As she walked, she worriedly remembered what had happened since the news of Quirinth going missing.

That day had been awful for her and Trion. Quirinth's squad had been brutally slaughtered by grenades and an unknown sinister technique, an only one person had survived, having been lucky enough to take a trooper killed by a KI drone back to the shuttle. He had come across the scene, with everyone dead, and Quirinth missing.

When she had heard, Sru'sky had remained silent that whole day, and Trion had confined himself to his room. It was only the next morning that Sru'sky finally began to cry, as she had now potentially lost one of her best friends, and after losing Alex a few months before, it was extremely painful to bear. Like always, Trion had been there to comfort Sru'sky in her time of need, just as she did for him. They had mutually comforted each other.

Up in hometree, Firi'sry watched with fondness as her daughter peeled each child off of Trion's legs. She saw the bond between them, strengthened by the hardships they had encountered with the loss of Alex and now Quirinth, and also countless perils in war. They were perfect for each other, and Firi'sry could see the feelings they shared for each other, even if they did not see it in each other.

After all, love can begin with denial.

**Pandora orbit**

Alex boarded the shuttle, ready to begin the operation.

The fleet he had brought was rather small, but strong for defensive purposes should anything go wrong. It comprised of only a single destroyer with cloaking fields, and 3 corvettes, which could be docked on the destroyer's hull to make use of the cloaking field. Currently, the fleet was all connected to the cloaked destroyer, and was descending into the Pandoran atmosphere. Its autopilot and officers had been ordered to maintain a hovering position over the tree of souls when reached. However, a small detachment was needed to secure the site before the operation could fully commence, which is what the shuttle Alex was currently boarding was ready to transport.

As the 1400m long destroyer entered Pandora's mesosphere, the shuttle went to full thrust as it exited the massive vessel's ventral hanger. With a pulse from its steering rockets, the shuttle rocketed down into the atmosphere.

As the shuttle dropped to 10000 feet, Alex realized that this shuttle could be spotted by any natives on the ground. Though the shuttle had a low reading on scanners, its stealthy shape showing it as the size of a bird, it did not have a visual cloaking field.

Alex shoved aside this fact, feeling that the natives would not know one vessel from another. He then turned back towards the cargo bay, and looked briefly at the 'cargo' he had requested. Then he turned to a group of paratrooper drones, and gave the signal to begin their side mission.

As the shuttle flew overhead, 8 much smaller shapes flew out, and began to glide during mid fall towards a large tree, protruding well above the surrounding forest. As they reached 6000 feet, two of the paratrooper units split off from the main group, and activated their built in cloaking devices, shrouding them from view. The other 6 continued on fully visible, as they needed to be seen and act as a diversion for the other 2 to succeed.

**Hometree**

As Sru'sky peeled off the last child, she looked up at Trion, ready to perhaps laugh at his relieved face. As she looked, she saw Trion was now looking almost straight up, towards the sky, where the shape of a passing aerospace craft could be seen. Suddenly, Trion whirled to face Sru'sky, and exclaimed: "That was a military shuttle up there!" The children were suddenly unnerved by this, whereas Sru'sky and H'nuptec stiffened, knowing full that this may not be a good sign. Indeed, Firi'sry had walked down in time to hear Trion's outburst.

Then, one of the children shouted and pointed back at the sky. Turning to see, they saw 6 shapes coming at them, fast. A quick scan by Trion showed what they were. Paratrooper units.

Pulling out his fusion cannon, Trion yelled: "GET TO COVER, NOW!"

The children screamed, and ran back towards hometree, back to their parents, and barely made it inside as Trion began to fire at the incoming troopers. He hit one in the torso, causing it to spiral through the air as a smoking wreck. As the first one was hit, the other five deployed their parachutes, and as they rapidly slowed, opened fire with their own built in plasma rifles.

Around Trion the ground erupted in debris, and Trion stumbled as he was riddled with plasma fire. He fired off another round, managing to put a hole one paratrooper's parachute, sending it falling 500 feet to its crushing doom. Behind him, H'nuptec, Sru'sky and Firi'sry had been rallying the Na'vi hunters, calling warriors to fight in close range and from hometree with archers. By the time the four remaining troopers had landed, a full on fire-fight had started at the base of hometree.

These paratroopers were expertly programmed, and quickly moved between cover and firing, managing to keep the warriors occupied. Trion's fusion cannon was the only weapon on this battlefield that posed a truly great threat to their survival. And yet, they had been told they were not expected to survive, but to fight until the task was done by the cloaked paratroopers.

As one trooper popped up, it managed to near hit Firi'sry in the ankle with a plasma burst. In anger, H'nuptec threw a spear hard at the robot, and gave a holler of victory as the robot was impaled with the weapon. Simultaneously, Trion had charged up his fusion cannon, and had effectively detonated a large rock one trooper was hiding behind, shattering the trooper with rock fragments. Among the chaos, the two remaining troopers had run towards the defenders, and had begun to engage the Na'vi warriors in close range combat.

Admittedly, H'nuptec thought, these machines were capable fighters. Despite the Na'vi being 10 feet tall, and the drones only 6 and half, and drones were a more than a match for a Na'vi one on one. As each warrior charged, the robots ducked and weaved, throwing punches and kicks at each warriors' exposed body areas. One robot was now surrounded by 4 Na'vi hunters, and yet was still managing to fight them all off with a multitude of spinning kicks, rapid punches and dodging twisting and flipping. Eager to finish the fight, H'nuptec ran over to the brawl, and called: "_Attack all at once!" _

With a bellow of agreement, the 5 Na'vi hunters all thrust with their spears, and impaled the robot through the abdomen. The robot spasmed as the spears dug into its circuitry, and it was then thrown to the ground, and stomped on by multiple Na'vi hunters.

With the last robot, the fight was more constrained, as this one was using both short range combat and plasma fire to keep any opponents away from itself, as it awaited the signal.

Away from the fighting, the two cloaked paratroopers snuck into the Omaticaya boneyards, and found their target, the stone tomb. With no difficulty, the two robots lifted the stone lid, and as it fell to the floor, picked the broken helmet off the top.

Inside, the robots picked up the corpse, and removed the newer helmet, and quickly replaced it with the broken one.

Job done, they began to run off at great speed, making sure to be followed. Indeed, a pair of Na'vi teens had witnessed the grave robbery from afar, and now rushed off to alert the clan warriors.

The last of the paratroopers delivered a roundhouse kick to H'nuptec's side, and ducked down to almost immediately swing at the Na'vi's legs, causing him to fall onto his back in pain. As soon as he hit the floor, H'nuptec saw the robot suddenly seize up, and jerk its head towards hometree.

Then, it started to run, at full speed, towards the open plains near hometree.

Confused, H'nuptec stumbled to his feet, and Firi'sry came over to check for any injuries. As he rose however, two Na'vi teens ran up to them, and pointed at a pair of newly emerging robots, carrying something between them. They yelled: _"Graverobbers! They took Alex's body!"_

Indeed, with a quick glance, everyone recognized the armoured corpse that the two robots now carried between them. Beside them, the surviving robot also kept pace with them. H'nuptec signalled: "_I need a group of warriors to come with me! Firi'sry, Sru'sky, Trion, you come too! We'll get them, graverobbers are sinners!"_

Within a minute, the warriors were riding direhorses, two to a mount, while Trion ran alongside them. Firi'sry rode with H'nuptec, and Sru'sky rode with another hunter.

For the next hour, the group tirelessly pursued the robots, who were leaving an obvious trail, and yet were still managing to keep well ahead of them.

Eventually, they were riding through the forests of the hallelujah mountains. Overhead, the massive floating rocks hovered effortlessly, and Trion had had to switch off certain sensors to prevent his processor from overloading due to the magnetic fields.

Finally, they were in range. As the robots ran over the hill leading down into the basin, they scanned the surroundings. Positiond around the tree of Souls basin were the robotic troopers ready to carry out the ambush, and the fleet was stationed overhead. All was set.

As the first warrior came over the hill, the robots dumped Alex's old body before the tree of souls, and stood to face the warriors, weapons drawn.

Trion, Sru''sky, H'nuptec and Firi'sry came over the hill, and were shocked to see the sight of Alex's body being guarded by the robots, in front of the tree of souls, in front of Eywa. Carefully, they stopped, and as they slowly inched forwards, the robots never once fired at them. Carefully, Trion raised his own fusion cannon, to meet the intimidation.

Then the signal came.

5000 feet above the tree of souls, a massive KI destroyer suddenly materialized, detaching 3 escort corvettes as it did. From it, a single shuttle launched from the hanger, and sped towards the basin.

And then from the basin edges, the trap was sprung. From the deep recessed in the walls, dozens of robots poured forth, firing stun blasts from their built in rifles and firing tangle cables to trip up the Na'vi and Trion. Caught completely flat footed, all of them were floored by stun blasts and trip wiring. As they fell, robots jumped onto all of them, and wrestled them into kneeling positions at the edge of the basin, although Trion took slightly more robots in order to fully restrain him.

By the time the shuttle landed, all of the warrior party had been restrained completely. The shuttle gently landed on the opposite side of the basin, and opened its cargo doors.

From inside, a dark, armoured figure stepped out slowly, and air of mysterious and ominous presence about him. He wore a smooth black helmet with a dark grey jaw structure beneath it, and his body was covered in armour plating, black in coating with red patterns running along its frame. The patterns met on the torso, where a red X occupied the full torso front.

As soon as the figure stepped off, the three paratroopers ran from Alex's old body, and quickly ran aboard the shuttle, their job finished. Slowly, the figure advanced to Alex's old body, and seemed to intently study it for a moment, before he gestured to an unseen being on the shuttle. He then turned towards the captives, and spoke in a sinister voice: "Well, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting this many to turn up when I told my minions to gather an audience." He looked at Sru'sky and Trion, and commented: "The Warrior Princess, and her loyal dog, the Silver guardian. Tell me, when was it you last saw the Savage Huntress?" Sru'sky's eyes widened, and the figure smirked at this beneath his mask. He paid no heed to the robot commando gently carrying the body bag out of the shuttle, slung over its shoulder, and continued: "Well, you see one reason I came here today to offer you a choice, a trade. You give me your dead friend's body." He gently prodded Alex's old body with his boot, and then pointed to the body bag being placed beside him: "And I return your friend." He quickly ripped off the body bag, and pulled the body gently form it so as not to damage it. He then picked it up by the neck, and showed it to a shocked warrior group.

To the horror of Trion, Sru'sky and her parents, Quirinth dangled unconsciously from the figure's arms. The figure handed the body back to he robot commando, who took it and walked over to them, placing the female predator's body in front of them, and then retreating to stand by its commander. Sru'sky yelled up at the figure: "What did you do to her?"

The figure chuckled, and said: "Why, I gave her what she deserved, a fate bordering on death. She is comatose, and I doubt she will awaken for quite a while. I must admit, she pleaded desperately for me to spare her, as she wished not to have done to her what I did to the rest of her battalion on Mykris."

Trion yelled up at him: "It was YOU! You kidnapped her and killed her squad! You're the one who's been identified by the UIP as leading many of these mysterious raids!"

"Correct. I work for the Knight Initiative. We are a splinter group of people from both the Alliance and the UIP, we fight to end this war, and promote justice, no matter the cost or method. We do not let ourselves be tangled by petty laws and morals tha hold back true justice, and so we take matters into our own hands."

He turned to the tree of souls, and he ordered the commando robot: "go to the shuttle, prepare the equipment." Nodding, the commando ran to the shuttle, while Alex turned his back on the captives, and faced the tree of souls. He ten spoke loudly, addressing the entire basin:

"Today, the Knight Initiative seeks to deal a psychological and cultural blow to the UIP, as a demonstration of our determination to fulfil our goals. No trial or operation is beyond us, and today, we shall administer our demonstration upon this collective being here." He pointed at the tree of souls, and he then declared out loud: "Eywa, you will act as our demonstration, as we install a shock and awe treatment upon you. Your cries shall echo and reverberate for all on this world and the galaxy to hear, and they shall know of the fury that is the Knight Initiative, and I, the Dark Hunter!"

He lowered his hands in finality, as the troopers gathered the equipment in the shuttle. In the basin, Alex's old body lay before the Dark Hunter and Eywa, peacefully resting forever. Sru'sky, H'nuptec, Firi'sry and Trion looked between Quirinth's comatose form, and the monster now standing before Eywa.

And beneath the Dark Hunter's feet, where the basin faintly glowed with bioluminescence, even during daytime, the ground darkened.


	4. Chapter 4

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 4: Ultimatum and Breaking Point.**

**Pandora, Alpha Centuari system, 25****th**** September 2899.**

As the Dark Hunter glared emotionlessly at the Tree of Souls, the crew of the shuttle began unloading the cargo. Equipment was set up inside the craft, and cables were fed out into the opening, towards the centre of the basin, where the glowing tree stood imposingly.

Aboard the shuttle, the extra generator was started, the fusion reaction kept at low enough levels to self sustain only, at least for now. The robot soldiers dropped the ends of the power cables at their commander's feet, before standing at attention by the shuttle.

The Dark Hunter turned to his captive charges, and stated in a boastful voice: "We came here today to demonstrate the lengths we will go to end this war. In order to demonstrate our willpower, we must first show how serious we should be considered by both sides. What better way than to strike a critical blow, which would attract attention across the galaxy. In this case, a blow o the central part of one species culture."

He gestured to the tree: "Here lies the centre of Pandora's biosphere, where an intelligent super-organism stretches its web of influence over the planet, integrated with all life on the planet. Such a magnificent thing was worshipped as a deity by the Na'vi, with perfectly good reason. Actual physical things are often centres of cultures, as Cybertronians can relate to with the Allspark. However, damaging these precious objects can cause a major morale blow to the species it is tied to."

He grinned evilly, and said venomously: "Once Eywa is subjected to our 'treatment', people will think twice about crossing paths with the KI, and we shall be able to fully instigate our enforcement of peace on this galaxy. Now though, this planet will be subjected to a kind of, shall we say, SHOCK and awe treatment."

The dark figure stepped forwards, and roughly grabbed some of the tendrils of the tree of souls, which flashed dangerously as he grasped them. He hooked each power cable to a separate tendril, and then stepped back. He called to his troops: "Set to 20% output power to start. See what this girl can handle first."

H'nuptec realized what was about to happen, and he began to struggle against his captors. He shook about, managing to move the robot soldier about. He looked at the tree, and saw the tree begin to flash sporadically, as the electric current poured into the tree. He took his braid, and connected it to the ground beneath him, momentarily ceasing his struggles. He heard Eywa's pain, though it was small at first.

Up at the tree's base, Alex saw the Na'vi hunters connecting their queues to the ground, and saw this as a way to gauge the pain Eywa was taking. He turned to his troops, and said: "50% output, I want her to feel this!" The troops obliged, and the power surged.

Through their queues, the Na'vi felt Eywa's pain grow, as she began to slightly scream in pain in their connections. The electrical power was lost over the vast network, but Eywa's screams reverberated for miles across the network.

H'nuptec stared up at the Dark Figure in rage, and to his horror, he saw him call to further increase the power to 70%. As Eywa's screams worsened, H'nuptec tore free of hi captors, and ran to the Dark Figure, moving to stop this madness and evil.

But the figure had heard him coming somehow.

As H'nuptec drew his knife to stab the man in the back, the much shorter commander sidestepped, and whirled around H'nuptec as he stumbled past, surprised at the figure's speed. H'nuptec drew a second knife, and grabbed the first in his right hand, and threw with all of his might. It sailed dead on target, heading for the dark figure, too quick for him to dodge.

Reacting quickly, Alex's computerized brain implants helped him gauge the knife's path, and his hand shot out, managing to barely catch the spinning blade in his hand. In his black gloved hand, the knife was nearly a foot long. He looked at H'nuptec, as if mocking him, and with a quick turnaround he slashed the knife at the nearest tree tendrils, severing them like pieces of paper. As the sacred tree was mutilated like this, H'nuptec flew onto a blind rage, and charged at the Dark Hunter with his other knife.

_Perfect._

Alex sidestepped, his adopted father's knife sailing past his masked head with inches to spare. As H'nuptec stumbled past, Alex stuck his foot out, tripping the nearly middle aged Na'vi male onto the ground. Quick as lightning, Alex leapt onto H'nuptec, and punched him hard in the side of the head. The punch dazed the Na'vi man, and he showed little resistance as 4 of the robots from the shuttle restrained him.

Now, H'nuptec was held down by 4 robots, kneeling before the Dark hunter beside a tortured Eywa. The Dark Hunter spoke quietly, barely enough for all to hear: "I must say, if you wanted to suffer with your deity to show your compassion and belief in her, you should have just asked."

With a sense of vengeance for H'nuptec's indifference and second rate parenting, Alex took one of the power cables off of the Tree of souls, and clipped in onto the queue if his adoptive father. As soon as the clip contacted H'nuptec he started screaming, as the electric current flowed through his body. His screams were a physical equivalent of those give off by Eywa herself through her network.

For five minutes, Trion, Sru'sky, Firi'sry and the other Na'vi hunters watched as the chief Omaticaya hunter was senselessly and horrifically tortured. All the while, the Dark Hunter prepared himself for the final act, and drew his two swords, only activating the vibro-function, not bothering with the plasma coating.

After five minutes, the cries of Eywa had been heard planet-wide by anyone listening to her, and at last Alex signalled for the power generator to be switched off. As it did, the power cables detached from both H'nuptec and the Tree. Now, the Tree was glowing weakly, drained of energy from the overwhelming electrical surge it had just felt.

H'nuptec was exhausted, and was temporarily paralysed by the electrical current. He gazed up at his soon to be killer, his face mirrored in the man's polished, featureless helmet. He then saw the helmet retract, as he placed himself between him and the other's present, so only he would see the man's face.

H'nuptec's reaction was akin to Quirinth's. He froze in shock, before scrambling backwards, until he hit the trunk of the Tree of Souls, where he was trapped. He continually looked back and forth between Alex's body, still slung on the robot commando's shoulder, and the face of the man who would now kill him. The face was exactly the same, even down to the eye colour. Those red eyes were now boring holes into his soul, the hatred shining a violent star. However, behind them, H'nuptec could see another emotion.

Regret.

In many cultures, the eyes or optics are said to be the gateways into the soul of a person. H'nuptec had always been good at reading eyes for signs of emotions.

He looked into the eyes, realizing fully that this was his son, returned. That beneath the twisted, tortured and spiteful visage he had donned, he was lonely, misunderstood and reluctant to do this.

Over his father, the one who had neglected him for his won flesh and blood, Alex raised his double swords in a V-shape, and placed them in above H'nuptec's forehead. He decided to try to make peace, and made fit to explain before he did this act. In a voice quiet enough for only H'nuptec and himself to hear, Alex muttered: "I never wanted it to come to this. I wished that I could let you go, but my feelings of resentment towards you outweigh any feelings of sorrow for what I'm about to do. I'm sorry."

Now, as the dark areas under Alex's feet grew larger, he spoke two words that shattered the worlds of all present, and in one person's case, would be the last words he ever heard.

"GOODBYE, FATHER!" The blades fell, and the sound of flesh and skull being stabbed and burnt simultaneously echoed through the basin. As the Dark Hunter retracted his swords, the corpse of H'nuptec collapsed, leaning against the tree of souls, with one gaping, cauterized hole marring his forehead. His body had died instantly, his brain no longer controlling his body.

A quick and painless death.

The entire basin was silent, and no one moved a muscle or servo for what seemed an eternity. The Dark Hunter stood over the fallen form of H'nuptec, his face, exposed only to the corpse, silently contemplating his next move. He knelt down, and placed a hand onto the fresh hole in H'nuptec's head, and muttered a silent goodbye, as he rose up, to complete his next, personal objective. All the while, Quirinth lay motionless and lifeless in front of Sru'sky and Trion, the former of whom now shed silent tears down her cheeks, glaring in shock and rage at the dark figure. Trion was too glaring at the figure, his processor contemplating tearing this monster limb from limb. Firi'sry had gone into shock, as the torture of her goddess and the brutal murder of hr mate had left her in an unstable mind state. The subconscious connection she had felt to her mate was severed, and a small part of her had died.

The Dark Figure now spoke to them: "Fool. Had he not decided to act so valiantly, he would be here still alive. He made his choice though, as I did my own all those months ago on Ki'ristalis, when I stabbed the president in the back in front of you all."

He turned around, and faced the captives, his exposed face now plain as day for all to see. He bore an evil smirk as he looked down at his old body, his crimson eyes scanning the lifeless husk intensely: "To think I was afraid of death when I inhabited that husk, and yet now, after death, I have become more powerful than I ever could have been in m first life."

He glared up at Sru'sky and Trion, and said to them: "I warned you that I would let nothing stand in the way of me installing true justice in the galaxy, and your comatose friend there paid the price for her meddling in my affairs! Not even death will stop me! I was brought back for the exclusive purpose of bringing true justice to an otherwise unjust and corrupt galaxy, and I have now demonstrated the lengths the Knight Initiative shall go to in order to achieve our goals!"

He then glared at the two, sending a look of inhuman hatred and sadism, and said in a voice to venomous to be natural: "And now I shall show you what you unleash upon yourselves should you stand in not just the KI's path, but my own also. You may have killed me in a past life, but I have been reborn as a true Dark Hunter! And now even death submits to my power!"

He then reached out a black gloved hand, and the nightmare began.

Firi'sry watched the body of her mate, begging to Eywa for this all to be an illusion, a dream. She watched H'nuptec's body, while sometimes stealing glances between Alex's body and that of this person, this thing that had just committed vile acts. The two were exactly the same in appearance, right down to the hair, eyes and scars. Even their personalities were similar, except for the matter that this new person was a twisted, demented version of the person her son had once been. And yet, she felt a fragment of the same connection she had felt with Alex to this new person, and the signals from Eywa had only confirmed it.

This dark figure, this manifestation of evil, was her son. This was Alex.

As Alex finished speaking, Firi'sry heard her son call out his new name to the world. The name which he had embraced as part of his reputation. The Dark Hunter. With his speech finished, the Dark Hunter stretched out his gloved hand, and appeared to go into a deep focus.

On the ground, movement was seen.

In a scene reminiscent of a horror story, the freshly killed body of H'nuptec, his forehead having sent a river of blood down his chest from the head wound, flexed its arms. It awkwardly moved itself to a kneeling position, and began to slowly stand upright. As it rose, the blood dripped from the wound and body, and the blank, deathly stare of the dead gazed at the terrified individuals present.

The other hunters began to panic, and Firi'sry began to scream, seeing her mate being used as a slave to new abilities Alex had garnered from his return. H'nuptec rose up, and stood tall beside the Dark Hunter, slumped over slightly while still dripping blood.

Beside her, Sru'sky and Trion had stared in horror as the dead rose up to serve the killer. Then, from their front, Quirinth began to move onto all fours, her limbs moving in unnatural ways, as she too pushed herself to a standing position. Sru'sky broke free of her captor robots, and retreated to the edge of the basin, with Trion following quickly too, to get away from this nightmarish sight.

Finally, the third and final servant rose. Alex reached out in his mind, and his former body, still enclosed in its armoured shell, staggered to its feet, the armour creaking slightly from rust and corrosion. It was such a novel ability, thought Alex, to use two bodies at the same time, even after the death of one. Seeing the looks of terror on his friends faces, he remembered gleefully the way Quirinth had reacted to this very same intimidation tactic, as she had watched in horror as her fallen comrades advanced on her, the sight of them torture for her, before Alex silenced her screams.

He looked around at the others present, and noted uncaringly that the other Na'vi hunters would help spread word of this. However, one look at Firi'sry, and Alex paused for a few seconds.

Firi'sry was a wreck, her face now covered in tears, silently crying from shock and horror. _She must think I'm a monster, killing her mate, my adoptive father, and then using his body for my own ends. _Alex remembered that Firi'sry had always been there for him, supporting him in whatever she did, and had always been first to voice her pride in him and his accomplishments, never once placing one of her children as superior in her mind, unlike her late mate.

_She has suffered enough. Its Sru'sky and Trion I'm after._

He commanded the three bodies: "The green eyed Na'vi female and the silver cybertronian mech are enemies. Attack."

The bodies began to advance on them, moving quickly in an unnatural manner. Quirinth, having being closest to the two, reached them first. She swiped at Sru''sky, who ducked away to avoid the engaged wrist blade. As Sru'sky rolled away, Trion moved to engage his fusion cannon, but not before the Dark Hunter yelled out:

"If you value the decency of my former body or H'nuptec, you will not harm them. However, it would do you no good anyway. No matter how many times you attack, they will always come again and again so log as their body s intact. As for your comatose friend though, be careful. You just might end up killing her anyway by fighting."

The Dark Hunter cackled in a low tone, as H'nuptec and his old body leapt onto the mech, and began clawing, biting and punching at Trion's armour. Meanwhile, Sru'sky was avoiding every one of Quirinth's attacks, never once launching one herself.

The fight lasted a minute, and at one point, Trion threw H'nuptec's body to the floor, and in an uncontrollable panic, he stabbed it's torso with his cannon's blade. Firi'sry and Sru'sky screamed out loud, both when H'nuptec was stabbed, and when H'nuptec grabbed the blade a few seconds later, his dead face now a feral, unnatural snarl. As this happened, Quirinth slashed Sru'sky on the arms, leaving deep scratches, which began bleeding profusely.

She fell to the floor in pain, just as Alex's body also came and ripped out some motor wiring from Trion's shoulder. He lost the use of some of his servos, and in his shock, he recoiled, freeing H'nuptec from the blade.

Now free from the blade, H'nuptec tackled Trion, the blood from his abdomen wound dripping onto the ground as he did. Trion fell down hard, and now H'nuptec, old Alex and Quirinth stood menacingly over them, their blank stares horrifying to them.

Just as they feared it would end, the Dark Hunter called out from the central tree: "Enough, we're done here!" The corpses and coma victim staggered to face him, and he flicked his wrist, which to the immense shock of all here, flew Alex's old body through the air, to land in the Dark Hunter's outstretched hands. He hoisted his old body over his shoulders, and faced H'nuptec's corpse, waving his hand and saying: "You served your purpose, now be gone." H'nuptec's body crumbled to the floor, now with a head wound and a torso wound. He turned to Quirinth's controlled body, and walked up to it, whispering in a deathly tone: "I release my hold over you now. Let the nightmares of my wrath torture you evermore, and serve as a warning to those who dare oppose me."

She too crumpled to the floor. He scanned her body-signs from his helmet's HUD, and began to walk away when he was sure she was still just in a coma. He walked back over to the Tree of Souls, and handed over his old body to his Robot Commando, and transmitted the command:

"**Load this body onto the shuttle. Keep it in perfect condition."**

The Commando took the body gently and nodded, before turning to walk off to the shuttle. As the commando boarded the shuttle, Alex heard Firi'sry, and turned to face his mother. She was looking at him now, her eyes searching his own for any possible reason for why he was doing such things. He answered her in a harsh tone of voice:

"My decisions are of my own accord. I chose to follow orders to torture Eywa and retrieve my old body, but quite frankly I was happy to commit these acts and more."

He stepped towards her, and gestured to the wildlife around him:

"Do you honestly think I ever felt truly welcome on this world? I never mixed with the clan because I couldn't connect with Eywa, I would never be a full member of the Omaticaya. And simply put, I wish to not be a part of it ever again. I struggled, I was weak compared to the others, when out there I could have led a much better life! If you had handed me out to an orphanage or something when my family were killed, this would not be happening! I chose this path because I chose to pursue true justice, unhindered by petty laws and factions, and your opinion of my actions now means NOTHING!"

His helmet engaged, shrouding his face once more in the smooth black helmet, and the harsh voice of the Dark Hunter spoke: "I was never truly a part of the clan, so my leaving is of no consequence to its history. Goodbye Firi'sry." As he stalked off towards the shuttle, Firi'sry wrestled with the emotions she felt. Sadness, at her son's fall from grace and her mate's death. Anger, for what her son had done and those who had likely convinced him to do so. Hurt, as her son, whom she had raised for 15 years, had just told her she was never truly a mother figure to him."

Off in the corner, Trion struggled to get up, saw that Sru'sky was still in great pain on the floor. He looked over at Firi'sry, who was now silently staring at the ground, her tears long since run out. Off to the other side of the tree, a shuttle's engines started up, and the Dark Hunter boarded the craft, but turned to face Trion once more. Suddenly, Trion got a text message over his comms system from him:

"**Be grateful I let you live, unlike when you three attacked me. The same will not happen when we next cross paths."**

Overhead, the shuttle rose into the sky, heading towards the hanger doors of the destroyer floating overhead. All of Alex's troops were onboard, including his old body as the precious cargo. Within a minute, the shuttle was in, and he hanger doors, shut.

With a mighty rumble, the destroyer powered up its fusion engines, propelling it into outer space with its corvette escorts close by. Below, the recovering group slowly absorbed what happened.

Alex had risen from death, tortured one of his closest friends and a planet wide deity, committed even worse acts than before, and killed his own father. Worse still, he seemed to have found a way to gain access to unnatural abilities, and used them to desecrate the dignity of his father's corpse, his own previous body and the comatose body of Quirinth, who would probably not wake up for a long time.

What all realized was that Alex had truly changed, and had become a twisted, sociopathic version of his former self, now unwilling to let anything stand in his way.

On top of this, he had just declared the existence of the Knight Initiative, which meant war would escalate with this new, third faction. And judging by the determination of Alex to fulfil their goals, if more of the faction were this dangerous and devoted, the cost of the war would only worsen.

As they all absorbed this, Firi'sry had run over to H'nuptec's body, and had thrown herself on top of it, her sobs echoing through the basin. She cried for her dead mate, her wounded daughter, and for the son who had lost his way, and fallen so far as to cause them this misery.

It would be another 10 minutes before a UIP security force arrived, having being dispatched immediately after detecting the craft entering Pandora's flux vortex. By that time, Alex was long gone, his small fleet having jumped to supralight speed minutes before. Again, they split up, to cover their tracks.

They were not followed, for the damage they had dealt was a priority to the UIP support and recovery teams.

**Omaticaya Hometree, the next day/26****th**** Spetember 2899.**

It was now mid afternoon, and H'nuptec's funeral had finished an hour ago.

His burial had been like many others. He was buried in the earth with a seed of the sacred tree, to have his spirit reabsorbed by Eywa. Before the burial, Sru'sky and Firi'sry had come forward to give a last goodbye, with Sru'sky merely standing over his now calm face, her tears dotting its serene features as they spilled forth, and Firi'sry gently weeping as she kissed her mate goodbye, telling him that they will not be parted forever.

After the burial, the Ole'tycan had made a speech in honour of one of their finest warriors:

"_H'nuptec was a courageous, devoted and honourable person. He never placed the well-being of himself before others, whether it be family, friends or clan members. His death is a great tragedy, in which we realized that the death of another clan member had taken place."_

Before continuing, he looked over at Firi'sry and Sru'sky, the latter of which was being comforted by a now sombre looking Trion. He pressed on with the speech, for the clan needed to know why H'nuptec had died so needlessly:

"_H'nuptec was killed by one who used to be a member of our clans, one whose mind was twisted and corrupted from the beliefs he cherished. He had died already, his body resting with our other passed on, as merely a clan member who lost his way, and died for his misunderstanding."_

"_However, this new person, one whose motives were vile enough to torture Eywa as service to his leaders, is not Alex. Alex died months ago, and now this demon has sprung forth, resurrected from the darker confines of Alex's mind, and given physical form. He robbed us of a clan member, and his own body. His evil is as plain as day, and knows no bounds. He is not part of this clan, for Alex was dead, and after his acts yesterday, he shall never be a part of this clan!"_

Yells of agreement reared up from the clan, and Firi'sry, despite a part of her disagreeing with this, reasoned that the person she has seen yesterday truly wasn't Alex. This Alex was veiled in a maelstrom of anger, rage, sadism and sorrow. The true Alex had been shackled and stored, and was somewhere in that creature's mind, deep down.

The rest of the funeral was quiet, as the clan remembered the good things that happened due to H'nuptec. His skills at hunting, some stories of being friends with him as a child.

Firi'sry turned to face her daughter, and embraced her gently, cherishing one piece of H'nuptec that still lived on in her.

Later that day, Firi'sry and Sru'sky were returning from the evening meal, only to find Trion staring blankly at H'nuptec's grave. They approached him, silently looking also at the now shattered grave where Alex's body had once rested.

Sru'sky placed a hand carefully on Trion's armour, and looked him in the optics, luminescent bleu meeting shining emerald. He looked at the grave, addresign both of the Na'vi women:

"_I feel horrible. I maimed his body when it attacked me, I made the damage inflicted on it worse."_

Firi'sry walked to his other side, and patted his arm in a comforting manner, fighting back the tears herself:

"_You acted instinctively, he was being controlled, you had no choice."_

Trion then began to think to himself, voicing his thoughts: "_How is it that Alex gained those abilities. To manipulate dead bodies, and to move objects without touching them. I did detect some mass between him and the bodies when he controlled them, so there was something he was using."_

Sru'sky then spoke, a hint of anger dancing on each word: _"HE must have learnt it either before he died, or between his return and yesterday. Either way, he is now a very dangerous threat."_

Firi'sry spoke, sadness still obvious in her voice: _"But how did he come to be this person? You two said he had spent two months training before he returned to you, before he died. What was the cause for changing him?"_

Trion's optics narrowed suspiciously, and he looked up to the sky, and said: "_I think the question is: WHO was responsible for changing him?"_

**Teranthos Nebula, 27****th**** September 2899.**

Nostith had just returned from the deeper bowels of the Emancipator, training with his two other pupils. They had advanced far, and were nearly ready to fulfil their purpose. But for now, his greatest pupil had returned.

As Alex entered the room, Norstith's avian eyes widened in surprise, in seeing him carrying a body on his shoulders.

Alex walked into the meeting room, his bodysuit and helmet masking his appearance. Over his shoulder, his old body, still encased in the old bodysuit, limply hung. Alex placed it on the floor gently before his feet, and spoke to his master as his mask retracted, revealing his face.

"My master, the task is done. I successfully delivered the cultural blow to the Na'vi species, and alerted them to the KI's existence."

Norstith nodded, but still stared at the old body. He asked: "Well done on a successful mission, but could you kindly explain why you chose to become a graverobber?" At this, Alex chuckled in an amused way, something he hardly did anymore. He explained: "As this mission took me to my childhood world, and my old body was there, I figured I might 'repossess' it. That's why I took Quirinth's comatose form. A trade if you will. I give them their friend's incapacitated body, and a warning should they cross me like she did, and in exchange I take my old body as payment for that 'delivery'."

Norstith looked at his apprentice, and saw that there was a slightly pained expression on his face. Concerned, he asked: "That wasn't all that happened on the mission though, was it?"

Alex sadly looked at his old body, and slowly picked it up, and carried it over to the table, where he rested it. He then pulled up a chair, and slumped down in it, before saying in a sad tone: "Things got slightly out of hand. They did come to the basin yes, but who it was who came caused me some problems. Trion and Sru'sky were there, but so were H'nuptec and Firi'sry."

Norstith pulled up his own chair, and sat down on the opposite table end, and said in a reassuring tone: "You are worried about what they think of you now?"

Alex lowered his head even more, and said: "Only Firi;sry's opinion of me worries me now. H'nuptec has been removed from the equation. He charged me when I was torturing Eywa, and he would have killed me, had I not done what I did."

Norstith's eyes widened, realizing what had happened: "You had to kill him?"

Alex nodded, and said: "I was consumed by feelings of rage and jealousy, considering he always seemed to favour Sru'sky over me. But he was also the quickest to lose faith in me in whatever I did. I said I was sorry to do it to him, but I killed him in front of Firi'sry. She was the first one to treat me for what I always wanted to be, an equal, someone who wanted to do well and good, but merely asked for support and guidance. She never favoured Sru'sky or me, but now that I killed her mate and my father, I feel that she will hate me, and Sru'sky will hate me more so."

Norstith then said something that surprised Alex: "If that be the case, then they are not your true family."

Alex snapped his head up, and asked in mild anger and confusion "What?"

Norstith continued, unhindered by Alex's exclamation: "A true family is supposed to support one another, no matter what choices or mistakes they make. If they truly hate you and view you even less, then they are not your true family."

Alex understood, but was still saddened by what he had to do. Keeping guilty thoughts bottled, he stood up, and said: "Thank you master, those kind words of wisdom really helped me."

Norstith then surprised Alex once more: "Enough with calling me master. I have deliberated on this decision for a while, and I feel that with this new success, and having confronted your feeling of vengeance and dealt with them, I feel you are ready to be an apprentice no longer."

Alex's red eyes widened, and he asked: "Are you saying-"

"Yes Alex. You have finished your training. Only you can further your abilities now. My task is done, and you are no longer my apprentice, but rather, my partner now."

The feeling of euphoria overwhelmed any feeling of depression, and Alex fell to his knees, in gratitude of this honour: "Thank you, thank you! I promise not to fail you!"

Norstith laid a hand on his armoured shoulder, and said: "I don't expect you to fail me, for you haven't yet. Now get some rest, I'm sure you are tired after that mission."

Alex nodded, and proceeded to the door, but not before calling a service robot to seal his old body in a preservation capsule, and ship it to his quarters.

Later that night, when many of the ship's occupants had gone to bed, and the Emancipator sat in the nebula, its lighted windows now mostly blank, alex lay on the floor of his room.

In the corner, he sat gazing at a collection of old holo-photos, of his friends in the academy, or them on the multiple worlds they visited. He lingered momentarily on two pictures, one a group shot of him, Quirinth, Sru'sky and Trion on a couch in their shared Ki'ristalis apartment, and another of him, Sru'sky, Firi'sry and H'nuptec in a family photo, with H'nuptec embracing them all in a big hug.

For the first time since his awakening, Alex shed tears of regret and sadness, as they slowly dripped through the holo-photo projections. His body became wracked with silent sobs, as he wrestled with his emotions internally.

_What have I become. This is the only home I have left now, I'm a disgrace everywhere else._

Hey readers [yes I know you're out there], what do you think so far? Please drop some reviews, and possibly some advice. Oh, and recommend the story to other readers if you think it's good.


	5. Chapter 5

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 5: Deception and doubt.**

**Ki'ristalis, 4****th**** November 2899.**

Trion and Sru'sky rested in the shared apartment, enjoying each other's company as they watched a holo-film together.

These little moments of peace were rare nearly a year ago, when the apartment housed four people. Now though, only two remained, survivors of the tragedy that seemed to befall this group of friends. During the time since Alex's ultimate act on Pandora, over a month ago, Trion and Sru'sky had been taking up slightly less missions, which the forces accepted considering what had happened since then. In that time, each of the two had thoroughly relied on the other for moral and emotional support, for when the times seemed tough. Deny it though they might, the loss of two of their friends had driven them closer to each other.

The following few weeks had also been a time of heated battles in the war, with a few of them now being fought from three different sides, with the UIP fighting both the resource rich Alliance, and the skilled, well equipped Knight Initiative. What was strange was that the amount of operations carried out by the Knight Initiative in which Alex, or the Dark Hunter, participated, had dropped since the disastrous event on Pandora. Speculation in the UIP was that he had taken up a more administrative position, to avoid combat, as his death had not been reported. His reputation had skyrocketed to the top of the most wanted list, mainly for the murder of hundreds in this second life, and the purposeful torture of an intelligent super-organism, or Eywa.

Also, he had become the face of the KI, the one who first comes to mind when anyone thinks about the KI.

Nevetheless, the KI had taken part in many operations since the Pandora incident, and had already 'liberated' many worlds from both UIP and Alliance control. Through hostage situations, kidnappings, invoking uprisings and direct assault, the KI was slowly carving out sections of the galaxy from the UIP and Alliance, gaining influence and power.

It was for this reason that Alex became less and less involved in the war. And in one faithful mission, his role in this war would be altered forever.

**Teranthos Nebula, 4****th**** November 2899**

Alex stood at his viewport, contemplating the majestic beauty of the unimaginably large nebula in which the Emancipator was hidden.

His thoughts were as swirling as the gas clouds millions of miles away, fighting with each other.

_Is what I'm doing really for the greater good? Committing atrocities, ruining my reputation and suffering on the inside?_

_NO, they must be free from the oppression of the war's factions!_

_But aren't I and the KI oppressing them in order to free them? Are we not making the problem worse?_

Alex placed a gloved hand on his forehead, rubbing it to try to soothe the headache that had started.

_Maybe this isn't worth it._

He decided to take a walk around the vessel, to clear his head.

Half an hour later, and Alex found himself in the bowels of the ship. He had decided to explore some of the areas of the massive ship that were unknown to him. He passed the massive reactor room, and walked down the catwalk.

Up ahead, he saw a large room, possibly for fuel storage. Deciding to look in, he approached the door.

Only to hear the voice of his master inside.

Quickly, he ducked away, eavesdropping. He listened to Norstith, who appeared to be talking to two other people:

"You have progressed far in your missions, and your training is near complete. Should my apprentice fail, I need you two to step up to fill his shoes."

Alex didn't hear the rest of the conversation, as feeling of betrayal arose inside him. He realized that he may be nothing more than a pawn to Norstith and the KI, and he would be readily replaced should he fail.

He ran off, holding in the tears that threatened to spill forth. His master, the one person whom he had left that cared for him, who acted like the father that H'nuptec should have been, did not truly cherish him.

Inside the training room, as Alex ran off, Norstith finished his speech to his two pupils:

"I would not wish for that to happen, for like you two, he is like a child to me, a son if you will. I would gladly die before allowing harm to befall him or you two. Know this as well, you and Alex are closely intertwined in fate, and you three shall all amount to greatness."

A male voice spoke out, saying: "Thank you master, we won't fail you."

Norstith nodded, and spoke to the pair of them: "Both of you act as individuals, but also seem to personify Alex's now split personality. You-" He pointed to the male: "-seem to have taken more of his more sinister traits into yourself. Your power shall be great, but will require extra training to focus it effectively."

Nostith then spoke to the other, the female: "You on the other hand are more cool and collected, just as powerful, but you lack the motivation and boldness to do all that is necessary. For those reasons, your training now relies more upon you learning from each over. Until next time, when I shall oversee the progress you made independently."

Norstith then left the training room, and began to walk along the catwalk as the door slid shut behind him. Now, he focused on the latest mission at hand, one which he would need Alex's help in doing.

A full day passed, and during that time, Alex had been avoiding Norstith, his trust in him having taken a blow. He contemplated his position, wondering if he was actually important to him and the KI, or was merely a tool to be cast aside when useless.

Meanwhile, the preparations for the next operation were ready, and Norstith had given the order for it to start.

**Teranthos Nebula, 5****th**** November 2899.**

Alex lay on his bed, continuing to think to himself about his true importance. Deciding to take a shower to clear his head, he jumped off the bed, and began to walk towards the door.

As he took his second step, he stumbled as the Emancipator began to accelerate.

Shocked, Alex abandoned all thoughts of a relaxing shower, and headed up to the bridge to find out what was happening.

As he entered the elevator to the bridge, he heard a call for him over the intercom, saying he was needed on the bridge. Alex thought to himself of what a coincidence this was.

By the time he reached the vast bridge, Norstith was stood there, facing a holo-table, studying a projected star system map. Ignoring any thoughts of betrayal or hurt, Alex began his façade of obedience:

"You called for me?"

Norstith turned to him, and said with a slight smile: "Indeed I did. I needed to brief you on a new mission, one of top priority to the KI."

"What mission? Does it involve the Emancipator? Is that why we're moving?"

Norstith looked at him, and said: "Suspicion is good, but sometimes it pays to not be too suspicious. Indeed though, this mission calls for a vessel of the scale of the Emancipator. As you are probably aware, this enormous vessel not only is the KI flagship, but is also the mobile command base. It is also a superweapon."

"What do you mean?"

Norstith projected the holo-map, showing a projection of a very famous planet in the sol system.

Mars.

The red planet, named after the Roman god of war, and a beacon of the success of terraforming. Alex looked at the projection, momentarily mesmerized by the image of the small rocky world, with its twin asteroid moons Phobos and Demos slowly orbiting it. He then asked:

"That's the target? A critical world in one of the most heavily defended worlds in the UIP?"

"Yes. We feel that we need to inflict another blow to the UIP, one not on culture, but on the morale overall. This is where the Emancipator comes into play. This massive vessel, at 10 kilometres long, is by far the largest vessel ever constructed. Unparalleled in firepower and force complement, it is the perfect weapon for intimidation. We shall unleash its wrath upon Mars, aiming for military targets and uninhabited areas only, to demonstrate our power."

"How would you gain such intimidation. The UIP and alliance have already seen wide scale destruction on an unparalleled scale. What could possibly scare them?"

Norstith pressed a button on the holo-table, and the primary weapon system of the Emancipator showed up. He explained:

"This vessel is equipped with two primary weapons. One for heavy assault on targets, and the other for inescapable cataclysms. We shall use the first of these, an antimatter shell launcher."

"You're joking."

"Not at all. We shall fire shell after shell into areas we have targeted, and we shall use warheads up to the equivalent to 300 megatons explosives, or 15 kg antimatter warheads. The shockwaves shall be felt all around the planet, and none shall not feel the effects."

"Military targets to be destroyed only, the rest just witnesses?"

"But of course, we aim for zero civilian deaths."

"It is that reason alone that I will go along this plan. But I gather that I'm needed for a little extra in this operation."

"Naturally. I need you to help me in leading a task force against the Mars governor. We shall hold him hostage, in order to allow our fleet safe passage into the system with the Emancipator. Once in, they shall be able to fulfil their mission and fall back before reinforcements arrive, and we shall be gone with them."

"We leave the governor alive?"

"He is innocent, surprising for one of his political stature. He shall be used as a bartering tool, but shall be unharmed."

Alex thought to himself, realizing that this mission may be a more relaxed one, it was more of assault and guard duty, while the others did their work. However, he still harboured feelings of doubt of Norstith's care about him, but nevertheless accepted.

Two hours later, a fleet of cloaked shuttles and fighters jumped to supralight speed, and it would be a good 8 hours between their arrival and the Emancipator fleet's arrival. By that time, the governor would be in the KI strike force's hands.

**Mars, Sol System**

Over the planet capital, the distant sun warmed the air, maintaining the temperate climate that the planet had gained from centuries of terraforming.

In the central government plaza, officials wandered back and forth between offices, their jobs the most important thing on their mind at the time.

At mid morning, a gust of wind picked up in the plaza, blowing leaves and martian dust around the plaza. As everyone braced against the harsh wind, they felt the ground shake from multiple impacts, as if something were setting down hard in the centre of the plaza.

Suddenly, laser blasts materialized from the centre of the plaza, blasting away sections of surrounding buildings. As the buildings were attacked, the source of the laser blasts came into view.

4 shuttles, coming out from a cloaking field, began to unload their cargo bay in the central plaza. With a crash, the doors hit the concrete, and heavily armoured troopers and KI mech suits charged out into the plaza, shooting at any security personnel that shot at them. The auto-turret defences were quickly dispatched by the shuttle lasers and plasma fire from the invaders, and within 2 minutes they were at the doors of the central office.

Inside, the governor froze as he heard the banging from the reception hall, and the echo of plasma fire. Having seen the attack, he had decided to stay, as the was no where for him to run now. The office doors then cracked, as something massive smashed into it. A few moments of silence followed, until it was ripped off its hinges by a KI mech suit, and tossed aside.

A dozen or so troopers swarmed inside, some living, others robotic. They surrounded the governor, and had rounded up some of his secretaries and deputy ministers, to trap with him. They were thrown on the floor, guns pointed at them in all directions. They then shoved the governor to join them, and he knelt with them just as two individuals strode into the room.

One was recognizable from the news, one of the most hated people in the galaxy today. His black and red trimmed armour, and featureless helmet with the dark grey bottom section, completed his harsh image. Alex, the Dark Hunter, strode into the room, not uttering a single word, and looked at the governor with his unreadable expression.

The other was unfamiliar, but equally imposing. He was taller than Alex, with his 7 foot height dominating Alex's 6 foot six inches. He wore very regal light blue and grey armour, the gloves and boots made to appear like an eagle's talons. The helmet was a visor, which extended outwards slightly, and had crown like extensions on top. Overall, he looked like a King, and he also looked to be a higher rank than Alex.

The new person's helmet retracted, revealing the face of a middle aged Leg'hrul, with traces of his unusual blue and grey feather pattern visible under where it disappeared under the armour. He was unique, as most Leg'hrul were red and blue. He approached the governor, and said in a cool, dominating voice:

"Now that the messy part is out of the way, let us begin this operation in earnest, shall we?"

The governor glared at this Leg'hrul, his blue eyed human gaze matching the opposite yellow eyed avian gaze.

"What do you want from us?"

"Why I want your cooperation, nothing more. You are merely a bargaining chip for us to give safe passage to the rest of our forces. If you cause no trouble, we shall depart this planet when we are done, and you and all of your associates will be unharmed."

"Like hell. Your assistant there would probably kill us without hesitation."

Alex glared over at them, his mask still in place: "Not normally, but continue your jibes at me, and I'll consider it."

Norstith scolded him: "Do not let your anger get the best of you, I taught you better then that."

"I am sorry, forgive me."

"No harm done, now let us make our message clear." Norstith turned around as a trooper carried in the appropriate recording equipment, and began to set it up.

**Ki'ristalis downtown square.**

Trion and Sru'sky walked back from the hospital, having just visited Quirinth.

She was in a bad way, but was in a stable condition. The doctors judge from the damage she sustained that she would not wake for half a year, give or take a month. Despite this reassurance that she would be back, the fact that she had been placed under this coma by one of her former friends was terrifying, considering he was still out there.

As they walked through the streets, they looked up at a huge holoscreen on a nearby skyscraper, watching a local news report on the latest celebrity scandals, shaking their heads in amusement at how such petty things continued during the war.

All of a sudden, the screen flickered, and the image changed to another, which was repeated all over the planet and any other star systems. An outside signal had hacked its way into this particular channel, and had frozen any attempts at changing it. On screen, the lighting increased, to reveal a government office on the Martian capital, in the Sol system. On screen, a group of humans knelt with their hands behind their heads, as a dozen or so troopers aimed their rifles at their heads.

In the streets, people screamed and pointed at the image, and Trion and Sru'sky froze as they saw that the troopers were wearing KI uniforms. Suddenly, a face filled the screen. A middle aged Leg'hrul, blue and grey in colour, and he began to speak to the camera:

"**Greetings citizens of the United Interstellar Powers. I am Norstith, one of a group of leaders of the Knight Initiative. As you can see, some of your planetary officials are now my guests of honour, and their cooperation is vital to their safety."**

Behind him, one of the troopers shoved one of the officials, pushing him further into the huddled group.

"**We have taken the Martian leadership as our hostages, and our demands are to be followed by the UIP defence forces should they wish for our 'guests' to survive. If our demands are not met, my associates and my apprentice will begin to administer suitable 'treatment' to our guests."**

A familiar masked figure stepped into view as Norstith mentioned his apprentice, and the crowds began to murmur at the sight of a fallen hero. The crowd's volume increased as his mask slid away, revealing Alex's face. His blood red eyes, his short cut brown hair, and the long scar down his left cheek, almost making a long thin hole in his cheek. Norstith continued:

"**The UIP defence around Sol is to be lightened, and our remaining forces shall be allowed safe passage onto Mars. Within 7 hours our forces shall arrive in Martian orbit, and if by that time our terms are not met, we shall begin systematically executing each of our 'guests' every half hour. To prove our seriousness, we chose an extra person to act as our demonstration subject."**

Offscreen, two more guards pulled a young secretary, a mid 20s human woman, into view, her long black hair dishevelled in her panic. Norstith looked at Alex, and nodded. The human male walked over to the woman, and her eyes widened with each step towards her he took. He then stopped, and he reached out a hand to her, pointing it at her body.

As Sru'sky and Trion watched, the screams of the crowd growing, the woman began to scream as her arms were snapped like twigs, each when Alex formed his hand into a fist. She screamed uncontrollably, and the end came when Alex crushed his fist again, this time her neck snapping out of shape, instantly killing her.

Unhindered by this grotesque sight, Norstith finished: "**You have been warned."**

The screen flickered and died, and the new report came back on, where the reporter was pale, having watched the execution herself in the studio.

Hours later, and Sru'sky and Trion had rushed to pack, as they were drafted into another mission to possibly repel the KI attack. Within 5 hours of the execution recording, the two of them were on the way into orbit aboard a shuttle, each fully equipped for combat.

They rendezvoused aboard a UIP battleship, where it jumped to Mars within minutes of all boarding. It would be a part of a task force made up of ships from all over the UIP, rallied to address the crisis.

By the time they arrived, the KI fleet arrival was just ten minutes away. During the passed time, the hostages had been preserved, showing the assailants at least kept their promise.

**Mars government complex, governor's office.**

It was time now for the fleet to arrive in orbit.

Tension in the office had mounted ever since Alex had to execute the secretary, and that very execution was bugging Alex's mind.

He thought to himself:

_I just murdered a perfectly innocent person just to set an example, per Norstith's orders. This is just like my father, except she definitely did no wrong to me. How could I do such a thing! What is happening to me? Why aren't things clear anymore!_

Alex's onboard comms system then registered that the fleet had arrived in orbit, and that they were pulling into position to begin the assault.

Norstith then turned on his communications channel, setting its frequency to communicate with a UIP fleet that had arrived in orbit just minutes before.

**UIP task force, lead battleship**

"Sir, incoming transmission from the KI forces below."

"Put it on speakers."

The communications officer put the message through, and Norstith began his speech.

"You have disappointed me. I told you to send me a message saying your response to our demands. Now that the fleet is here however, I shall give you a second chance. If you do not interfere in our operation, we shall leave the hostages unharmed. However, should you interfere, we will begin executing them systematically every half hour until you stop attacking. There is no alternative to this, so I implore you to sit back and watch the fireworks."

The link cut off, and then scanners on the bridge went wild as a massive fleet began to drop out of warped space.

Outside the viewport, the appearing fleet was visible to the naked eye. First, a group of 16 corvettes, 10 destroyers and 6 cruisers dropped out of warp. Then, three battleships dropped into orbit, one of them being the Liberator, Alex's frequently used battleship. Lastly, a new kind of vessel dropped into view, one that dwarfed them all before it by far.

A KI battleship, such as the Liberator, was 2 kilometres long, and nearly a kilometre wide. This new vessel was easily between 10 and 11 kilometres long, and 3 kilometres wide at its widest point. It was a gargantuan monster of a vessel, bristling with weapons powerful and numerous enough to decimate an entire continent easily. The bridge personnel and crew watching the view-screens wondered where the KI had built such a large craft unnoticed, and what kind of role would it play here today.

As they watched, the destroyers, cruisers, battleships and the new vessel released swarms of fighters and bombers, accompanied by hundreds of landing craft. This was no small strike, this was a full on assault.

In the hanger bay, alarms blared for all pilots to man their fighters. It had been decided that the loss of a few government officials was more acceptable then the loss of humanity's second settlement in history, the first being Earth.

In the hanger, Sru'sky ran over to Trion, who was transforming to accommodate the advanced fighter frame that he wore like a flight suit. She yelled to him: "Ready to go?"

He said: "Yes, we'll help give them a surprise when they get down on the ground. We're part of a force to take back the central government buildings."

Sru'sky sadly commented as she climbed into his cockpit: "Looks like we're to cross paths with Alex once again."

Trion then said: "Hopefully, this will be the last time. But it is tragic that it had to come to this."

The fighter took off, and the two were joined by 19 other fighter craft, heading into high flight at 70,000 feet, to attack the central government sector.

During the descent, Sru'sky said to Trion: "This Norstith, he is the one who trained Alex, he called him his apprentice."

"Indeed, he must have met up with him at some point and convinced him to join the KI, perhaps even when he faked imprisonment for 2 months."

"That would explain his sudden attitude change then."

"And it also explains part of the mystery of his return. Norstith must have ordered Alex's resurrection, exactly how I cannot say."

"In that case, we should kill Norstith for corrupting our friend and my brother."

"That's a given."

The fighter craft accelerated, keeping pace within the flight of twenty craft. In higher orbit, the UIP fleet moved to engage the KI fleet, using 2 battleships, 4 cruisers and 4 destroyers and 10 corvettes, with reinforcements on route from Earth and Alpha Centuari.

The battle was about to start.

**Governor's office, Mars.**

"Looks like our little hostage threat has failed. The UIP are foolish enough to send a flight to destroy us. No matter, we can kill them all now, make our leave before the arrive and let our fleet shall ravage the planet and the UIP fleet."

Norstith declared this, and the troopers began readying to fire. That is until Alex spoke out: "This isn't right. We promised them to leave them unharmed, why are we going back on our promise? Doesn't that make us as bad as they are?"

"Alex, you must learn that sometimes the right decision isn't necessarily the best one. We must set an example to them."

"By harming perfectly innocent people? I can handle killing and harming those guilty of evil things, but I cannot bring myself to harm those who have done no wrong!"

"Have you not learnt what I taught you! You must do all that is necessary to bring about justice! One way is to make the cost of fighting so great that they are deterred from fighting! Now kill these hostages, or I will order the troopers to do it!"

Alex pulled out his retracted plasma swords, and threw them on the floor, declaring: "I will not commit this act of needless violence, but you can go ahead if you wish, just don't make me a part of it!"

Norstith looked sadly at him, and said: "I tried to show you that you must do all that is necessary, but it seems I still need teach you. Very well, you can go on ahead, this won't take long."

Alex picked up his swords and stormed out the door, and as he passed into the plaza, the shots from the troopers rung out, then silence. Alex approached his parked fighter, leaning against the frame in deep thought.

As the troopers came out and boarded the shuttles, Norstith came over and looked Alex fiercely in the eye: "I don't know what has gotten into you, but it must stop. If it were not for me, you would not be in the critical position you are now." He then softened his gaze as he turned towards the shuttle: "I care for you, but I don't want you to throw away an opportunity to do something great."

As Norstith walked aboard the nearest shuttle, Alex climbed into his fighter, and as the canopy closed, he thought: _What do I do? I feel guilty and conflicted doing work for the KI, but I can't go to the UIP or the Alliance, they both hate me._

Rubbing his face, he pulled the fighter up into the sky, to escort the shuttles back to the Emancipator.

Over the Martian horizon, the 20 approaching fighters powered on to their target, readying their weapons for attack. Up in orbit, the UIP fleet engaged the KI fleet, who were doing little more than defend and repel, not once aiming to destroy completely like the UIP were. A call came in from the lead battleship, saying for the flight to switch targets to a retreating shuttle convoy, as the hostages had been killed and the assailants were retreating.

Knowing Alex was among them, Sru'sky and Trion headed towards the flight, hell bent on retribution for the atrocities committed by the KI and Alex, hoping to avenge those who this monster had hurt, and also avenge the memories of the Alex they had known and loved.

Up ahead, the shuttles were halfway to the KI fleet, when scanners detected an incoming fighter group headed to intercept them. Orders went out for an intercept, with half of the escort fighters, 4 including Alex, turning around quickly, to be joined by another 10 fighters from higher orbit in order to intercept the incoming fighters.

Although Alex was a formidable ground level fighters, rivalled and surpassed by very few, in a dogfight he was almost unmatched. Embracing the thrill of the hunt, Alex smiled to himself:

_At least I'll get some enjoyment from this operation._


	6. Chapter 6

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 6: Crossroads.**

**Mars, 5****th**** November 2899**

The two fighter groups closed, each travelling well over Mach 3. To untrained people, the time to react was too short.

To those experienced or naturally gifted, this was merely difficult.

Before passing, Alex commanded the fighters backing him to fire their lasers on any fighters they chose, while he fired on the lead fighter. However, the UIP fighters chose to do the same.

Laserfire erupted from both flights, destroying 4 of the KI fighters, and 6 of the UIP fighters. As they passed, a pair of fighters collided accidentally, lowering the numbers to 9 KI fighters and 13 UIP fighters. With no time wasted, the UIP fighters split up into groups, using superior numbers to take them on.

As Alex pulled up, he saw that two fighters were close on his tail. His scanners detected them trying to lock onto him, and began jamming them. All the while, Alex dove for the ground 50,000 feet below, with the UIP fighters being stupid enough to follow.

As they locked on, the lead fighter fired a missile, its tracking computer following Alex exactly. Smirking, he ejected a set of chaff debris from his fighter, confusing the missile, and causing it to detonate on a piece of debris. As this happened, Alex pulled up hard, almost blacking out in an attempt to avoid the desert below him.

The UIP fighters were blinded as they flew through the missile's smoke cloud, and then saw the ground rushing up to meet them. They both pulled hard, but one of them didn't pull hard enough, and slammed into the ground with a meteoric impact. The other pilot managed to clear the ground by just 10 metres, and began to pursue Alex once more. Impressed with the pilot's endurance against G-forces, Alex pulled a risky move, and fired his fighter's rockets in reverse, the deceleration slamming him forward in his seat.

The sudden slowing of his fighter placed Alex behind the second UIP fighter, who looked confusedly at him as he overshot him. Alex then pulled the trigger on his control stick, blasting off the engine and generator of the fighter. The craft began to fall, and the pilot ejected to safety, just 6 seconds before his fighter hit the ground below.

Seeing this dogfight was over, Alex sped off to rejoin the fray, and saw that during his chase, the numbers had dwindled to 5 KI fighters, including himself, and 9 UIP fighters. Not good enough in Alex's mind. He chose his target, a fighter in the tail of one of his wingmen, and fired a missile at close range. With no chance of avoiding, the UIP fighter disintegrated in a fireball.

Overhead, Alex saw a pair of UIP fighters tailing a drone KI fighter, struggling to keep pace with the robotic pilot's skills. Alex pulled up, and in a sweeping dive, destroyed both fighters with a well placed laser burst, and a missile for the other fighter. Now it was 5 KI against 6 UIP. Much better odds.

Up ahead, one of the UIP fighters was flying directly ahead of him, and locked onto him. It fired a missile, Alex only noticed it in time. He rolled down to avoid it, and fired off his own missile as he did. It impacted the fighter, blowing it in half and disintegrating the rear section. Unfortunately, Alex flew right through the debris cloud, and a large piece damage one of his antigravity generators.

As he watched the UIP pilot eject, Alex bitterly realized that he could no longer land vertically. He would have to make an emergency landing on the surface, as he could not land in any of the KI vessel hangers with no vertical takeoff and landing ability.

As he pulled away from the dogfight, he transmitted a request for a shuttle rescue from the planet surface after he was done here.

He pulled back into the dogfight, seeing that he could still take down some of the UIP fighters before he had to land. That was when he saw it.

The familiar fighter shape, the slightly bulkier fuselage, the markings. It was Trion.

Alex glared at the mech's fighter, automatically selecting him as his next target. He accelerated, keen to send the mech into pieces over the Martian desert below.

Trion blasted away, destroying another KI fighter. Inside, Sru'sky kept a look out for any fighters on their tail. She then spoke up: "One behind us, coming in fast."

As she said this, Trion went into a roll, spiralling upwards as he did so. Amazingly, the KI fighter, slightly darker in colouration, obviously the leader, matched their every move. As he drew nearer, he fired off his four laser cannons, each blast drawig closer as he drew nearer.

Trion then hit the retros, shoving Sru'sky forwards in her seat, and sending them into a half flip, pointing them directly at the incoming fighter. He then accelerated, and fired off a missile and a quick laser burst. The fighter rolled to the side, firing its own lasers as it did, but performed the same half flip move that Trion had just done moments ago. Trion and Sru'sky watched amazedly as he continued to pursue.

"We can't shake him!" shouted Sru'sky, as the fighter fired off another series of laser blasts, managing to heavily damage the fighter's engines.

"Then I'll take him directly!"

Trion transformed, with Sru'sky still encapsulated in the cockpit, and went into freefall. The fighter screamed towards him, as Trion pulled his mighty fusion cannon around to aim.

Alex realized what Trion was doing, and saw no chance of escape. He had no choice, and he hit the eject button.

Just as Alex burst through the cockpit, Trion fired his fusion cannon. The fighter ripped apart as one of its major wings was severed by the blast, and it began to disintegrate in midair by the air resistance on its ruined frame. The pilot had bailed out, and was now freefalling above them. Above, he saw the debris from the KI fighter falling, and so he glided off to the side to avoid it. Trion also followed him, keen to question him upon landing.

Alex looked shocked as he saw a freefalling Trion follow him towards a canyon below them. Luckily, Alex always carried his usual arsenal with him in his battle suit, so he would be prepared should thins heat up as they probably would.

At 2000 feet, Trion decided to slow for descent, and fired his booster jets. Normally he used them to jump high, but here they helped to slow his descent, so the jerk of deploying his parachute would be less stressful on Sru'sky. Inside his cockpit, Sru'sky had readied her battle equipment and armour, ready for fight if it came to it.

Alex however waited until 1000 feet to deploy his parachute, as he wanted to be more prepared when they met, and getting there first would allow that. He pulled the chute, the frame jerking him violently, leaving only 8 seconds until his softer landing.

He hit the ground hard, rolling to soften the blow, but he was otherwise fine, his mechanical sythe-skin limbs being able to take much more punishment than his old limbs.

As he activated his homing beacon for a rescue shuttle, he looked up and saw that he would have a good 30 seconds until Trion touched down. Alex ducked under a rocky outcropping, preparing his weapons, a built-in plasma rifle and grenade launcher, his two shoulder dart launchers, and his two iconic plasma swords, which he had retrieved before storming out of the government building.

As Trion landed, Alex received the transmission that the shuttle was en route. It happened to have Norstith aboard it, and Alex figured the only reason he would come was to help him. Despite any current distrust he had in him, Norstith was his best bet to survive, as even if he killed Trion, he would likely be captured by UIP martian defenders if not rescued.

Alex stepped out into the open, ready to fight Trion off until Norstith arrived, but saw that he would actually be fighting Sru'sky as well, as she had been hiding in Trion's cockpit.

Nevertheless, Alex figured he may as well showcase his new combative abilities here to them.

As Sru'sky leapt out of Trion's cockpit, she caught sight of the pilot emerging from a corner 30 metres away. She looked at him, and recognized all of the suit markings, but it was the voice that confirmed it:

"So we meet again? How long has it been since we met last on Pandora, Sru'sky?"

Sru'sky snarled at him, and switched her wrist vibro-blades on, as Trion also armed his weapons. Alex laughed at them, and said: "Don't act so surprised, surely you must have realized that I was the only one who could keep pace with a cybertronian in a dogfight? And also, you actually think you can take me?"

Sru'sky charged at him, intent on striking him down. As she got within 5 metres of him, Alex flicked his hand off to the side. As he did, Sru'sky felt an invisible force, like a battering ram, slam her sideways into the rock face. Alex shook his head, and taunted her: "Sloppy. H'nuptec would have been ashamed to call you his daughter with moves like that."

"I AM ASHAMED TO CALL YOU MY BROTHER!" Sru'sky yelled, ash she charged at him, her vibro-blades descending upon him like chainsaws. He countered with a sword for each blade, the plasma field of the blades stopping them from beign sliced in two. He then pulled a dirty trick as the Na'vi girl pressed him into the ground, her almost double height towering over him.

He kicked her hard in the ankle, enough to cause bruising. She winced and eased up on her pressure, which allowed Alex to push her off him, and then jumped upwards to swing his leg out to kick her in the side of the ribs. She stumbled bak, surprised at his enhanced strength, and only managed to brace herself as he shoved the air just in front of her, sending her back towards Trion in a massive push, using his unusual powers to do so.

As she leapt to her feet, they saw Alex disappear, using his abilities to cloak himself. Trion activated his body heat sensor scanners, but found no trace of him at all. Behind a rock formation, Alex slowly crept up towards the outcropping.

From behind, Trion heard something jump, and whirled around to see Alex grab him around the neck, as he began to stab into his frame with one of his swords. Trion yelled in pain, and began to claw at the human. He found a hold on him, and he threw a startled Alex hard towards a rock wall nearby. To their surprise, Alex activated a hidden turbofan pack, and flew up to the top of the rock wall, where he landed on his feet, before facing them.

High above them, Alex aimed his plasma rifle and grenade launcher, and fired. As he did so, Trion grabbed Sru'sky and pulled her behind him, as he shielded them with his arm against the plasma and grenades. As they turned when the assault ended, Alex had landed on the ground below, and used his abilities to hurl a large rock at Trion, knocking him back far into a small canyon wall, where he was buried lightly under a small rockslide as he lay there momentarily dazed and confused.

As he attacked with his twin swords, Alex did not bother to activate the plasma fields, wishing to test his swordplay. He swung at Sru'sky's legs, and as eh leapt to dodge, she brought her blades down to his head. He swung up to block, and began to hack and slash at any part of her body he could get at. They exchanged blow after blow, with Sru'sky stumbling back at his ferocious strength and speed, unnatural for a human.

Nearby, Trion had excavated himself, and was now lining up his fusion cannon for a precise shot at Alex. He found his mark, and fired.

Alex heard the charging of the cannon, and shoved Sru'sky away using his abilities, and whirled to face the cannon. As it began to fire, Alex extended a fist, and from it a purplish-black fiery substance erupted like his own cannon. As the fusion cannon fired, the two beams met, and detonated on impact. The blast blew Alex back 10 feet, where he rolled back to face the two of them, deciding to stop holding back his newfound abilities.

Trion stared at Alex, unable to comprehend how he stopped his attack. Sru''sky too stared open mouthed, unable to explain how Alex did that. However, that was merely a taster. As they watched, Alex raised his hands above his head, and the dark fiery substance appeared around his open palms.

Up on the canyon tops, loose rocks began to float in midair, suspended by the same dark aura. As they slowly moved over Trion and Sru'sky's head, they realized what was about to happen. They leapt out of the way as the rocks fell, crashing onto the ground where they had once been.

As the smoke settled, Sru'sky exclaimed loudly: "How did he do that!"

Trion looked up, and his optics widened with fear: "How's he doing that?"

Looking up, they saw Alex had leapt to the top of the new rock pile, and was somehow charging his body with the dark aura. He then leapt towards them, the dark flames acting like a jet, sending him screaming towards them at an impssible speed. Like a matador, Trion and Sru'sky leapt to the side, and Alex skidded to a stop 20 metres away from them. He then quickly did a spinning backflip, accelerating towards them again in the dark jet form, this time aiming for Sru'sky. She leapt out of the war to avoid this human missile, but one of Alex's spinning kicks caught her in the side, sending her back a good few metres.

Trion ran to Sru'sky's aid, as Alex landed atop the same rock pile he started on. He turned his masked gaze towards them, and decided to outnumber them. He focused himself, and the dark aura surrounded him in a sphere, to defend him from reasonably powerful blows. Down below, Sru'sky fired her plasma rifle at the sphere, only to see it impact harmlessly on the surface. However, as Trion moved to use his fusion cannon, a shape leapt out the sphere towards them, and landed in front of them, briefly materializing into a shadowy physical shape that mirrored Alex. It then proceeded to tackle Trion, knocking him back a good few metres and doing significant damage to his fusion cannon, before evaporating into thin air.

With Trion's heavy weapon gone, Alex removed the shadow sphere, and drew his twin swords to continue the assault. As he began to charge his next dark attack, the rumble of a shuttle distracted him, Sru'sky and Trion. Ignoring it temporarily, Alex raised his swords, coating them in dark aura, before slicing them downwards, launching an X-shaped dark projectile at them. As Trion raised his arm, the projectile impacted, a dark explosion pushing them back towards some nearby rocks. As a final demonstration, Alex pointed his swords at each of them, and from them small dark fireballs launched at them, tracking them as they moved to avoid them. Trion ducked behind a rock overhang, and Sru'sky soon joined, both of them damaged from the unnatural assault. As Alex finished firing, he looked up to pay witness to his master's arrival.

Overhead, a KI shuttle hovered, and from it leapt a blue and grey figure. It came to rest slowly, supported by an unseen force as it touched down at an unnatural slowness. Alex stopped charging his attack, and walked over to him, before nodding to him.

Norstith walked over to the top of the rock pile, and began to address Trion and Sru'sky: "I trust you know who I am, so no introductions are necessary. My apprentice-" He gestured towards Alex with his helmeted head: "Has taken the liberty of demonstrating some of the abilities I have taught myself and him. Know that you are outmatched, and it is best you surrender and retreat. Especially if you wish to survive the final assault of our fleet. Farewell."

With that, Norstith flew up to the open shuttle, using his own version of a turbofan pack. Before retreating, Alex decided to spare their lives, by warning them:

"We're going to bombard the planet. Find suitable shelter and you'll be fine. The nearest blast shall be 10 miles away, a 10 megaton blast. Don't follow me."

Alex then flew off to the shuttle, which took off into the sky as he boarded and shut the door. Below, Sru'sky looked at Trion, and she asked: "Can you survive a 10 megaton blast that far away?"

Trion nodded, and said: "I can, but you'll be damaged by the heat wave. Get into the cockpit, and we'll both be fine."

Sru'sky nodded, and climbed into the now familiar seat inside Trion's chest. She sat inside the cramped interior that marked much of Trion's chest, dominating his 16 foot figure. She contemplated two things. One, why did Alex warn them of an attack if he hated them? And two, although she would never admit it to him, Trion's cockpit was one of her favourite places, as it placed her awfully close to his warm spark chamber.

Up in orbit, Alex talked to Norstih, having formulated the escape plan for the operation. He went over it one more time: "As usual, we'll split the fleet up when we leave, and we'll regroup later. I'll take command of two of the battleships, including the Liberator, 3 of the 6 cruisers, 5 of the 10 destroyers and 4 of the 10 remaining corvettes. You'll command the rest of the fleet. We'll regroup back in the Teranthos nebula."

Norstith agreed to this, and it was decide that the shuttle would drop Alex off on the Liberator.

Unbeknownst to Norstith, Alex had carefully selected his fleet vessels to command for specific reasons. Reasons that would become known by the time Norstith returned to the Teranthos nebula.

When Alex eventually reached the familiar bridge of the Liberator, he stood in front of the main viewport, watching as the remaining fighters returned, and the KI bombers rained destruction on the military bases of Mars. As he watched, the Emancipator lined up itself for its targets.

Within 10 minutes, the bombings were done, and now the orbital bombardment could commence. As the Alex's fleet fought off any UIP forces trying to get through, the Emancipator readied its warhead arsenal. With the first target in line, it fired off a 50 megaton warhead, which took about half a minute to reach the planet surface.

As it detonated 2000 feet above the planet surface, the 100% mass to energy change generated an unimaginably hot fireball, one bright enough to be seen by the orbiting fleets, and strong enough in shockwaves to be felt hundreds of miles away.

As the first fireball raged, the Emancipator fired off more shells, another six 50-megaton warheads, eight 10 megaton warheads, two 100 megaton warheads, and the big finale, one 300 megaton warhead.

The last warhead was detonated a full five minutes after the first bomb, and would be the largest explosive device purposefully detonated in recorded history. Fortunately all of the warheads were detonated in uninhabited areas, and they acted more as a demonstration of power and psychological warfare. The 300 megaton warhead detonated 200 miles from Olympus Mons, and the fireball ravaged the ground, and the shockwave was felt for over 1000 miles. In far away cities the ground shook from the sheer power in that one weapon. The dust cloud generated would cloak the Martian planet surface for days, and would be higher than Olympus Mons itself.

Needless to say, all fighting stopped when that 300 megaton warhead hit. The UIP forces became too encapsulated, awed and shocked at the destructive force that the KI fleet was able to turn all of its fleet to the correct direction to jump out of the system.

By the time the fireball dissipated, the KI fleet was long gone, with only a few abandoned, wrecked corvettes showing any sign of their prescence.

On the Martian surface, the dust was settling from a nearby 10 megaton warhead blast, and a Na'vi female climbed out of a mech's chest, to gaze in awe at the amount of dirt uplifted by the blast. After the initial shock, the two made their way towards the nearest city.

In the government centre of Mars, landing UIP troopers began to salvage the bodies of the governor and his associates, their bodies marred by plasma fire.

**Sector 43, 60 light years from Sol.**

The KI fleet segment hung in space, repairing its damaged sections on the 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 5 destroyers and 4 corvettes. Engines needed replacement parts, and communications had been disabled to remain undetected by UIP forces.

Onboard, Alex began to issue text orders to all onboard robot troopers, which made up half of the force, to round up any organic crews once they finished necessary fleet repairs.

Within hours the fleet was ready to go again, and it was then that all organic crews were seized by robot personnel. In order to get around any friendly targeting procedures, Alex ordered all organic crew to be placed aboard the battleship Resolve, of the Cruisers and one of the destroyers. All of them were also drugged, so they would be asleep for the next few hours.

These three vessels would be left behind by the rest of the fleet, which would be led by Alex aboard the first battleship, the Liberator. He had made his decision, and had decided to pursue a different path, but not before taking what he deemed necessary to his cause.

He was abandoning the known galaxy, to pursue a peaceful life in the uncharted regions, setting up a settlement for himself to live out the rest of his life. The fleet he would take with him had the necessary supplies for establishing a permanent base, and would also serve as defence should the UIP, KI or Alliance come after him.

The organic crew members would wake up, and report his desertion to Norstith, not knowing where he had gone at all. To help insure this, Alex had all of the vessels wiped and stripped of any tracking equipment.

2 hours later, and it was only Alex left aboard the Liberator as its only organic member. He proudly took the wheel, and with a deep breath, commanded the new helmsmen robot to take the fleet to warp, ready for fresh start.

**Teranthos Nebula, 6****th**** Novemeber 2899.**

When the trio of organic only vessels reached the Emancipator fleet's location, and reported their situation, Norstith was furious.

He smashed the nearby wall in anger, as he thought to himself why his apprentice had decided to do this to him. He had served his purpose yes, and he been Norstith's greatest pupil.

But he was now also Norstith's greatest failure.

Norstith's feelings of betrayal and anger were overshadowing his feelings of sadness. Deep down, he was wondering what he had done to drive him to desert the KI and him like this.

He decided to check Alex's quarters for any clues.

Entering into the room, he found it bare as usual, as Alex only kept what he could take with him in a small sports bag sized container, which was now with him wherever he was. However, there was one thing new in the room.

A letter.

Norstith walked over, and checked the name on the front. He saw that it was addressed from Alex to him, and he opened it eagerly. Inside, he found the answers. He sought.

10 minutes later, Norstith would read the letter's contents to his two new apprentices, who were interested in seeing why Alex had abandoned their master. It read:

**To Norstith. If you are reading this, I am long gone from your contact. I leave you this letter to voice my reasons for abandoning you.**

**First, I have become severely disheartened by the types of acts I have had to commit to serve the greater good under your tutelage. I gained my vengeance on Quirinth as I wished, but after that I hid my true thoughts from you. I was conflicted, I thought my revenge would satisfy me, but it did not. It merely began a strange knowing feeling in my gut, which only intensified with each mission. The moment realization came after the mission to Pandora, where you had me torture what was effectively a goddese. My thoughts I expressed to you about her were only a small part, and I was inclined to refuse. What made me regret it even more was when I was forced to kill my father. This mission to Mars also has pushed my boundaries of moral values, and I refuse to torture or harm completely innocent people any longer.**

**Second, this position of power has corrupted my mind. I used the gifts you gave me for evil purposes. I tortured my friends and family willingly out of blind rage and sadism. I am now a disgrace to my old friends and family, and am no longer welcome in either the UIP or the Alliance. In which case if I feel not at home with the KI, then where is my place?**

**Finally, I left because I realized you were using me as a tool for the benefit of the KI. I acted as the public face of the KI, the figurehead and head enforcer. Working for the KI made my reputation plummet even further, and I have had enough. Also, it seems what with two apprentices in the works, you are willing to replace me at a moment's notice. Well, now you can, and all I have to say is goodbye.**

**We had some good times, but I feel I must pursue my path outside the known galaxy now.**

**Yours faithfully Alex, your no longer loyal Dark Hunter.**

As Norstith finished reading the letter, he female apprentice spoke up: "It's our fault he left. We should have shown ourselves earlier."

The male apprentice snorted, and said: "He's weak. He didn't have the guts to go all the way. I'm ashamed to be associated with him.

All the while, Norstith was contemplating why it had to come to this, and asked himself the same question that Firi'sry, Alex's adopted mother, asked herself whenever she thought of Alex. By this, Norstith had fully come to view Alex as a son:

_Where did I go wrong?_

In the deep realm of interstellar space, travelling faster than light, Alex planned his move to find a new home:

_I'll scan the cluster of stars coming up. Its 1200 light years from Sol, well out of the way of the UIP, KI or the Alliance. I'll visit possible systems and find a suitable one to establish my base, my home on,_

The Dark Hunter smiled, not a sadistic smirk or a fixed smile, but a genuine one. He was free at last. Free from oppression, free from responsibility, free to roam as he pleased.

Free to wander the stars.


	7. Chapter 7

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 7: Wandering and discovery.**

**Uncharted Star cluster, 9****th**** December 2899, 1200 light years from Sol/Earth.**

35 days had passed since Alex deserted the fleet, taking with him a sizable chunk of it. 30 days had passed since his arrival in the star cluster.

In those 20 days, the fleet had been checking each star system that showed a promising place for a home and base. Alex would prefer to settle on one with a breathable atmosphere and liquid water, which narrowed down the number of systems to ones with planets in the habitable zone, which was about 20 out of 1200 systems.

On each visit, Alex personally went to check each planet, and found interesting 'features' of each world before picking one. These recordings mark some of his more memorable explorations.

**Day 3 of 25 of search. Small, rocky world in twin red dwarf system.**

Alex scanned the horizon, and saw that the desert stretched on for seemingly miles. Unlike common conceptions about deserts, this one was quite cold.

However, it was unsuitable, as the solar storms from the twin stars were too frequent to be safe. Also, the world was quite poor in mineral wealth, critical for establishing and maintaining the base.

Alex got out his checklist of systems, crossing out this system.

**Day 9 of 25 of search. Large rocky world in single giant star system, orbiting gas giant.**

Alex coughed yet again as the volcanic ash choked him. This world was very volcanic, like Jupiter's moon Io in Sol. The air was breathable, but barely. Alex crossed out this system, trying not to spray his phlegm and mucus on the datapad as he had another coughing fit.

**Day 13 of 25 of search. Small rocky world in neutron star system**

This world was easy to judge. The neutron star it orbited bathed the planet in harmful radiation. The air was breathable, as the plants and animals had adapted against the heavy radiation. But it was completely unsuitable for a human to live on long term, let alone walk about with exposed skin.

Alex had landed and taken off within 10 minutes, thinking: _I'm not even going to bother crossing this one out. It's too obvious what the answer is._

**Day 18 of 25 of search, Medium sized rocky world in main sequence star system.**

Finally he had found a world where there were no issues from the stars or planet features. The air was pleasant and dry, as the world was mostly desert and mountains, with seas divided far and wide on the planet surface. The mineral wealth was suitable, and it seemed this world was perfect.

Until Alex went out to explore the plains.

As he walked, he looked around, seeing the odd bush and small animal scurrying about. As bare and featureless as the landscape was, it was alright to look at. The vast expanse of desert was almost hypnotic to look at, seeing it stretch on for almost an endless distance into-

**ROOAARR!**

Off to the side, Alex saw a hideous creature explode out of the sand 20 feet away from him. It was a giant worm of sorts, with a hardened, skull like head and a hungry look on its face.

Panicking, Alex looked around, and saw a nearby 50 foot tall tree. He broke into a run, his mechanical limbs helping him run fast. The sand worm tunnelled again, leaving a trail of collapsed sand in its wake as it sped towards the armoured youth.

Seeing the tree and the predator chasing him, Alex remembered vividly the hunt he went on with Sru'sky at 15, before being kidnapped by the Sril'sasks for the gladiator games. It was just like being chased by the Thanator all over again.

As the worm drew closer, Alex grabbed the tree trunk and began to climb fast. By the time he was 15 feet up, the worm had surfaced in front of the tree, its mouth chomping in the direction of where Alex was now climbing onto a thick branch. Up above, Alex's looked down at the hungry predator, realizing that he could have been worm food had he not run fast enough.

Not wishing to overstay his welcome, Alex activated his turbofan pack, his onboard mini fusion reactor giving it almost unlimited endurance. As he flew away, he decided to fly all the way back to his fighter craft, mentally reminding himself to put a BIG cross next to this world and system on the checklist.

Having grown up on Pandora, a beautiful but dangerous world, and knowing about animals on other worlds living and extinct, Alex respected nature even more. He felt that nature could present its beauty and its ugliness. In this case, mother nature really created a fucked up monstrosity, which could be appreciated for its uniqueness, albeit preferably from the air only.

**4****th**** December 2899**

**Day 25 of 25 of the search, medium sized rocky world, main sequence star system.**

Ever since the sand worm incident, Alex had carefully scanned each world after it before even thinking of setting foot on its surface. This world was in a single main sequence star system, with a star remarkably similar to Sol. The system itself was basic, with 3 rocky inner planets, an asteroid belt, which would prove useful for materials, and 2 gas giants in the outer system, with a large belt of comets beyond it.

There was only one world within the habitable zone, and the Liberator and its fleet were currently stationed in orbit around it. The fleet had scanned each and every square kilometre of the surface, to map out the terrain and find out the mineral composition. After 4 hours, the results were in, and Alex cycled through the data in earnest. The mineral composition was good, and any materials needed could be mined from the asteroid belt. The wildlife was suitable, no surprises in store that they couldn't deal with, and the continent layout was simple. A large single continent in the eastern half of the planet, and a smaller, more mountainous continent dominating the western half. Between these two continents were numerous small to medium sized islands, and at the north and south poles were landmasses covered in vast expanses of snow and ice. The atmosphere was about 70% Nitrogen, 26% oxygen and 4% carbon dioxide and other gases, not too different from Earth's atmosphere.

_Remarkably like Earth._ Thought Alex.

However, as he scanned through the data, what he read next caused him to splutter in shock. The planet was inhabited by humans, whose DNA structure was only slightly different to regular humans, giving them the same physical appearance. They were spread all over the world, with the western side being the most industrialized, relying on coal for power.

As he watched video recordings taken by scanning cameras, he saw that these humans appeared to be a mixture of European and Asian appearance, and by some miraculous reason spoke English. Most shocking of all was when Alex saw recordings of people manipulating their surroundings to their will. From the northeastern part of the world, in a vast city, he saw what looked to be soldiers moving boulders and creating rock walls with simple hand movements. From the west, he saw humans duelling each other by launching fire at one another. And from the north and south poles, he saw water being manipulated with ease by people to create snow structures.

Alex stumbled back, bracing himself against a nearby wall from the amazement. He had found a group of humans who were obviously not part of the UIP, probably had never heard of it. How they got here was a mystery, but it was obvious to Alex that he had found the perfect place to live. He could establish a base far from prying eyes, and yet he could still mingle with the locals population of the planet, free to do as he wished to.

Before he could celebrate, a Robotic admiral came into his quarters and said: "Sir, we have selected the most suitable site for establishing a base away from the locals."

Alex snapped to attention, and asked; "Oh? Where is that?"

"On a small island, in the middle of the ocean between the western and eastern continents. Sea and air travel will be necessary for transport to the mainland, and power can be generated from either tidal sources, solar, geothermal or seawater-duetrium fusion."

Alex took a closer look at the island on the holo-map, and saw that it was about halfway between each continent. It seemed that the locals had focused on the smaller ocean between the two continents for transport, whereas this island was on the other side of the world, far from civilization. It was perfect.

He gave the go ahead to begin landing the supplies needed. Alex himself had helped in designing the base, adding in any defensive, luxury or training measures where he saw fit. Priority was for power to be established, and infrastructure to maintain the fleet. In that case, the fusion power plant, vehicle hangers and barracks were to be constructed first. Until it was ready, Alex would live aboard the Liberator, overseeing construction.

Within hours, the first cargo shuttles had landed on the island, a small island about 8 miles long and 5 miles across, with a volcano dominating the island's northern edge.

**18****th**** December 2899**

2 weeks passed, and construction was well underway. The larger vessels such as the 2 cruisers, the Liberator, the 4 destroyers and the 4 corvettes would remain in orbit. The smaller vessels however were now able to land and remain at the newly built aerospace port and vehicle garages, comprised of servicing depots, fuel depots and ground level and underground hangers.

The fusion power plant and desalinization plant were up and running, providing unlimited water and energy, and the stereoligraphy plant was operational. Now any supplies could be synthesized as long as materials were available. To help this, the matter synthesizer plant was built alongside. Now any material could be converted into useful material, which helped keep down waste levels too, as waste could now be completely recycled into anything.

The fuel production depot was almost fully operational, with the hydrogen and algae biofuel production well underway. It was only the antimatter synthesizer that needed work now, to make fuel for the vessels that relied upon antimatter for their engines or heavy weapons.

As Alex was the only organic on the base, the skyfarm and meat tissue culture facilities were relatively small in size, although they could easily cater for up to 50 people when pushed.

The barracks were finished, which were places for the robots to recharge and do as they freely wished. Unlike many people, Alex had grown to see intelligent machines as equals, and so allowed the robots freedom of leisure, and allowed them to ask for any facilities they wished for.

Alex however was still living aboard the Liberator, as the apartments meant for him were not going to be finished for another week yet.

All while this construction went on, Alex planned to explore the world for himself, leaving the robots to finish construction. It was then he realized that he may as well create a second in command for himself. An administrator to oversee the base while he was away, a robot with intelligence enough to socialize with, because deep down Alex had become depressed with loneliness, and the relatively emotionless machines he lived with did not help. So he decided to commission the creation of a new kind of robot. One that he could come to view as a friend and partner, one who would never betray him, and would remain loyal to Alex no matter what Alex did. If it did, alex would give it his undying loyalty also, in a mutually beneficial relationship.

After ordering the creation of this robotic leader and assistant, Alex realized that he would have to teach it what he knew. It would be a learning robot, and it would have to witness what Alex did and taught it in order to learn. Downloading data could only do so much. At this thought, Alex realized this was akin to having a child, oen who would look to him for guidance. It was quite humbling.

**20****th**** December 2899**

Today marked the day when Alex would venture into the mainland.

He was about to explore the eastern continent on foot, primarily the largest city on the planet, on the North Eastern part of the continent. There he hoped to gain information on the different cultures and political situations, as it seemed to be the capital of at least one of the world nations.

He boarded his fighter, and programmed it to land 150 miles from the city's north eastern perimeter. With great speed and eagerness to explore, he set off into the atmosphere. As he dropped to 40,000 feet, his fighter cloaked to avoid being seen, Alex thought to himself.

_At least there aren't any sand worms here._

1 hour later, and Alex was walking along a footpath towards a small town, his fighter having flown back to the Liberator on autopilot.

He was invisible, using his 'abilities' to hide himself in plain sight. As he walked in, he saw market stalls selling tools, jewels and necklaces, weapons and food. He walked past them completely unnoticed, overhearing the conversations:

"5 silver pieces, my final offer."

"You're sure she'll accept this?"

"I could make better jewels myself!"

Alex snickered, seeing that this world still relied on a haggling system, which although it was outdated and primitive, was quite fun to take part in. It was when he read a sign over a tavern that he realized two problems.

He had no local money, and he also did not know how to read the language. He had thought ahead, and had some gold, silver and copper mined from asteroids in the system. He scanned each type of coin, transmitting the data to the base to begin manufacturing a stockpile of it to use whenever he next came in.

He had brought a few small gold bars, in case he needed to make a purchase. For clothing though, Alex decided to use his unique abilities to generate a disguise.

Stepping into a nearby clothing store, he began scanning the male clothing sections with his helmet's on board computer. With the data, Alex helped himself to the appropriate clothing.

In an unoccupied dressing room, Alex dropped his cloaking field to check the disguise. He had still worn his helmet and basic armour, which was relatively thin, more like a thick sweatshirt in thickness, and could be cloaked to appear like his skin. This meant he would appear not bulky in the clothing he had borrowed.

In the mirror, as Alex removed his helmet and folded it up for storage, he looked at his new clothing. He now wore a light brown, sleeveless tunic and dark brown trousers, and a thin dark green and yellow edged jacket adorned the outfit on his body. His feet now were concealed in black leather boots, and just in case he could generate the image of socks and underclothing if needed. His face was revealed, with it remaining unchanged, his red eyes, brown hair and deep, healed cheek cut still visible. Satisfied, Alex walked out of the shop under invisibility, dropping off one gold bar on the counter to effectively pay for the clothes.

He decided to test his disguise, and walked out into an alley under invisibility. He then deactivated the cloaking, and walked out into the market place. To his zest, the disguise worked perfectly, with his outfit blending perfectly with the common folk. He did stand out a little though, because of his scar, but also because he was quite tall. He was 6 foot 6 inches tall, whereas on this world the average height of a man was 5 foot 9 inches, whereas a woman was 5 foot 6 inches. Despite this size and face difference, it worked perfectly. He could now hide in plain sight,

By midday, Alex was well underway, having managed to secure a waterskin, a bag, a map and food for the journey. As he walked, he patted the bag, ensuring his helmet was still inside with his supplies. Inside his outfit he hid his double swords, though he would not use them beyond the vibrator setting, to avoid exposing high tech to this world.

For a full day he walked non stop, hoping to make it to the city within four days. By the next midday he had already walked 50 miles, so he was well on track. Because his limbs ran on the fusion generator's electric power, he did not get tired from using constantly.

On the third day, Alex had only 30 miles to go until he reached the city. As he rounded a corner, he heard footsteps approaching. They were too loud to be those of an attacker, and so there was no threat. He stepped out to see who it was.

As he stepped out, the person, now only 20 feet away, looked at him in surprise. It was a woman, looking to be about 40 years old, and had long black hair which was down to her waist. She wore green and pale white travelling clothes, resembling a kimono of sorts. Her eyes were a startling golden colour, like miniature suns. As she looked saw him, she closed the gap and said:

"Oh, I wasn't expecting someone to be here."

Seeing her as a pleasant woman, Alex kindly replied: "I could say the same. Why are you walking this way?"

The woman looked down the path, and said: "I'm headed to the capital, Ba Sing Se to meet some family. What about you?"

Alex quickly thought: _Ba Sing Se, that must be the city's name. _He replied: "I'm headed to Ba Sing Se also, I'm returning from a delivery mission to a town about a hundred miles away."

"Oh, which town?" The woman asked, keen to know about this stranger.

"Don Shieng." Said Alex, remembering hearing the town's name as he took the clothes he wore.

"So you've travelled quite far then?"

"Yes, very far indeed." Said Alex, subliminally hinting to himself how far he was from UIP space.

The woman looked up the path, and said: "Well, seeing as we are both heading to Ba Sing Seh, perhaps we could travel together? We're less likely to be robbed or attacked on the road with two of us."

"I agree, there's nothing better than safety in numbers."

The two set off, with both of them thinking of what a stroke of luck it was to meet someone to accompany them. The woman then asked: "You look quite young, how old are you?"

"I'm 18." Even though Alex was technically 21, his reincarnated body was actually his physical equivalent of when he was 18, so he felt he had lost 3 years of his life being reborn. He then asked: "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm 38."

"Surprising, I would have thought you to be younger than that." Alex said offhandedly, making a small joke as he did. The woman laughed at the comment, and then asked: "What is your name?"

"Alex."

"Alex? An unusual name, I've never heard of an Alex."

"My parents wanted to make their child unique, so they gave me a unique name."

"Fair enough."

"What's your name?" Alex asked as they started down a gentle slope.

"Ursa."

**24****th**** December 2899, Ba Sing Se outer wall.**

Alex and Ursa continued along the path, with both of them craning their necks to look up at the gargantuan wall that marked the city outskirts.

During their time together, Alex and Ursa had exchanged stories. Both kept some of the features to themselves for secrecy. Ursa told Alex of how she used to belong to part of a wealthy family, until her husband tried to rob his brother of his inheritance. She explained how her husband, of an arranged marriage, was ordered by his father to kill her son as punishment. She said she conspired with her husband to kill his father, and to save her son. However, she had to leave or face execution for what she did.

At that time, Alex praised her for that bravery: "You were willing to effectively end your life to save your son's. You must have loved him very much."

She smiled, and said: "I still do to this day. From what I have heard, he has accomplished much, and I cannot wait to meet him."

"Wait, is that who you're meeting in Ba Sing Se? Your son?"

"Yes. It's been 8 years since I've seen him. I've lived in the North Eastern Earth Kingdom for all that time, and I only just heard that he is in the city, helping his nation with maintaining peace."

"To recover from the war, right?"

"Indeed."

During their time, Alex had also learned of the recent history of this world, that two years ago a global war had ended between the western Fire Nation and the Eastern Earth Kingdom. She explained how the air nomads were wiped out, and how the water tribes fought against the fire nation with the Earth Kingdom.

By the time they arrived at the city wall, Alex was reasonably versed in the recent history.

As they arrived at a small entry way, a toll booth of sorts marked the wall edge where the path ended. Beside it stood two guards, and inside the booth sat an official of sorts. There was no one else there, and when they arrived, the official asked in a snooty voice: "Passports for entry into the city."

As Ursa dug out her passport, Alex mentally swore. He never thought they would use passports for the city. Thinking fast, Alex used his dark abilities to materialize a copy of his bag on the path fifty feet behind him, and exclaimed to Ursa: "Damn, I dropped my bag back there!"

The official looked at him impatiently as he stamped Ursa's passport, which incidentally was forged to make it look like she hailed from the Earth Kingdom. Alex spoke to both him and Ursa: "I'll go fetch my bag and passport. You just go on ahead and wait for me to meet on the other side."

Ursa nodded, and she walked off through the tunnel that the guards earthbended in the wall. As Alex walked towards the dummy bag, he pretended to pick it up, and then faked seeing something interesting behind a rock nearby. As he went to 'investigate', the official tapped his fingers loudly, while the guards impatiently waited by the wall, keeping the tunnel open.

They failed to see or hear the very faint footsteps that passed them.

Under invisibility, Alex waited until he was nearly out of the tunnel before he de-cloaked. The guards were still watching the rock he had ducked behind, and he walked out of the tunnel as if he had just been let through.

50 feet away, Ursa waved to him, and he ran over, saying: "Took a while, but I got in fine."

Ursa then pointed towards a large viaduct, where some triple carriage trains ran overhead: "We can use them to get to the inner ring. That's where my son is."

"My employer is there too, although I'm thinking of quitting after I get back to him."

"Why?"

"He's a bit of an asshole. And my skills can get better use elsewhere."

At that statement, the two set off for the nearby train station. Once there, Ursa was kind enough to pay for both of them on the train. Once on board, Alex looked at the two men at the rear of the train, impressed that this skill, apparently called bending, could be used as a substitute for technology.

The ride was only half an hour to the inner ring, where the two disembarked. On the trip, both had seen the difference in classes. The outermost ring was home to farmland, while city itself was split into 3 rings. The outer ring, for low wealth people, the middle ring, for medium wealth, and the inner ring, for high wealth people, including politicians, noblemen, and royalty.

As they walked through the tidy streets, people looked at them with mixed views. Their travelling clothes were not really what the upper class wore. At the same time, because of Alex's age and Ursa's age, they looked to be a mother and son travelling together, and at 6 foot 6 inches Alex easily towered over Ursa's 5 foot 8 inches.

As they walked, Alex looked around, taking in the beautiful gardens and thatched roof housing. The sun was beginning to set, and the day was beginning to end.

Ursa then grabbed Alex's arm, and said: "How about we grab something to drink there? We can also perhaps rent a room out?"

She pointed to a nearby building, what looked to be a restaurant of sorts. That was when Alex decided to drop the bomb. "Ursa, I have a confession to make. My job as delivery boy was simple in its skill requirements, I really only needed to be able to walk long distances and memorize a picture map."

Ursa looked at him quizzically, and asked: "What are you saying?"

"I can't read."

An awkward silence followed, and Ursa showed some sympathy, saying: "No need to fret about that. I can read to you anything you need. Besides, that place is called the Jasmine Dragon, it's a tea shop.

Alex smiled and grimaced simultaneously, thankful for Ursa's understanding, but not looking forward to drinking what he viewed as hot water.

As they entered the tea shop, they saw people at many of the tables. Obviously this place was quite popular. At the counter, a young man took their orders. Ursa took a simple herbal tea, while Alex decided to get the same, hoping it would taste alright.

Alex went off to find a table, while Ursa would stay behind and get the drinks. He passed a table where a group of teenagers sat with a man Alex's age.

The man was 18, like Alex, and had medium length black hair, golden eyes and a hideous scar over his left eye. Unlike Alex's, his seemed to be caused by a burn of some kind. Beside him, a group of young teenagers talked with him:

"So Zuko, who's watching the Fire nation?"

"Well Mai's back in the palace, she's watching things while I'm gone."

"What about your mother? Have you found her yet?" Asked one of the girls, a brunette with blue eyes and long brown hair. At this, Zuko shook his head:

"No, my father won't say, and I think he genuinely doesn't know where she is."

"Zuko, you'll find her eventually."

Alex felt some sympathy for the man's plight. He could share some of what he overheard with Ursa, who was done retrieving the tea. He found a table for two, and called over to her:

"Ursa, there's a table here!"

The group of teens froze at this sentence.

Zuko froze as he heard the man behind him call out that name. His eyes quickly darted to the side, where he saw a middle aged woman walk over to the man, setting down a tray with two cups of tea.

The gang turned slowly, disbelief cast over the group instantly. And yet there she was, here long black hair, her golden eyes and that graceful kind of movement one picked up as a member of the nobility.

Zuko slowly rose from his seat, as Katara, Aang, Sokka, Suki and Toph remained seated, their mouths hanging open in shock and their eyes bulging in surprise. He approached the table she was at, and the man she was with took a sip of his tea.

The man's eyes began to shimmer slightly as the apparently spicy tea took its toll. He said in a strained voice: "What's in this? Cough!" He drank some water from his waterskin, flushing out the tea. Opposite him, the woman laughed, the same laugh Zuko remembered from his childhood. Then her voice rang out, confirming it was her:

"Not much a person for spicy tastes, are you?"

As Alex finished chugging the water, he replied: "Gee, what gave you that impression?" He then noticed Zuko, as did Ursa, and he asked: "Can we help you? Its Zuko isn't it?"

Ursa suddenly stood up as he said Zuko's name, and she stared into Zuko's eyes. Gold met gold, and mother and son had finally found each other.

Zuko carefully asked: "Ursa? Mother?"

Ursa replied: "It's me Zuko?" She pulled him into a crushing hug, letting held back tears spill forth from 9 years of separation from her child. Zuko broke down, the joy and relief of finding her after this long breaking through.

In their seats, Katara, Suki and Aang began to cry slightly, so happy that Zuko had finally found his mother after searching for so long. Sokka meanwhile tried to fight back the tears, to maintain his manliness, as he called it. Both Katara and Sokka remembered the memories of their own mother, Toph listened to the mother son reunion, remembering with joy her own reunion with her parents after returning to them.

Alex stared in confusion at the sight of Ursa hugging the complete stranger, his mind being screwed over in his inability to comprehend what had just happened. As Ursa and Zuko pulled apart, she asked a question: "Zuko, how did you get that scar?"

Before Zuko could answer, Alex interrupted: "Alright, what is going on here, did I miss something?"

Ursa looked at him, and said: "Alex, Zuko is my son."

At this, Alex looked between them, noticing the similarities: "Oh wait, now that I look at it, you two look like you're related somewhat."

Zuko looked at him, and asked: "Who are you?"

Alex stood up, and introduced himself: "I'm Alex as you already know. I met up with Ursa 30 miles from Ba Sing Se's northeastern border while returning from a delivery mission, and travelled with her to here."

Ursa then looked at Zuko again, explaining: "I told him the basic story about what happened, as he did his own."

The rest of the teens then walked over to meet Ursa, and it was Aang who bowed to her and said: "It's an honour to meet you, former princess Ursa."

Alex spluttered, and said: "You're royalty!"

Zuko then said: "I think its best if we explain things."

**Teranthos Nebula, the Emancipator, 24****th**** December 2899**

Norstith looked upon the two humans in front of him. Their training was complete, they were ready to pick up where Alex had left off.

His traitorous apprentice's desertion was now known throughout the KI, UIP and the Alliance. Ever since then, Norstith had trained with his two new apprentices almost non stop.

The role these two would play would be critical for the KI, and also, he wished to use them to perhaps either lure Alex out, or locate him.

He would be found and punished for his desertion.


	8. Chapter 8

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 8: History and new foes.**

**24****th**** December 2899**

**Jasmine Dragon, Ba Sing Se, 1200 light years from Sol.**

It had been a long talk, simply put.

Alex was led into a back room, where the group gathered together on a set of couches to sit down. Alex, being distrustful and yet polite, chose to remain standing. As they sat, Iroh walked in to see who had just come in. As he saw Ursa, he stopped:

"Ursa?"

"Hello Iroh."

Iroh ran over to Ursa, pulling her into a fierce hug, before pulling back to look at her: "My dear, its been far too long. Where were you all these years? And how are you here?"

Ursa gestured at Alex: "I met Alex here on my way to Ba Sing Se. I had heard Zuko was in the city, so I made my way here. We came to your tea shop and ran into each other."

"Wait, how did you find out this was my tea shop?"

"When I saw the name, it hit me. Jasmine Dragon, the dragon of the west, who happens to be a renowned tea lover, wasn't it obvious?"

"Smart as always Ursa, it truly is a joy to see you again."

A sharp whistle interrupted them, as Alex once again asserted his desire for an explanation. Regaining their calmness, Ursa and the others began to retell their stories to each other.

For an hour or the group exchanged stories, and many truths were revealed. Ursa had explained how she had murdered Firelord Azulon to protect him from ordering Ozai to kill Zuko as punishment for trying to take the throne in is older brother's time of sorrow, caused by Lu Ten's death. As a consequence, she had to flee due to Ozai having to banish her, for had she remained she would have been sentenced to death if found out. Ursa revealed she had travelled far North East, and had lived there for 8 years until she heard of the war's end. Unfortunately news travelled slowly where she lived, and Ursa had not heard of the war's end until 1 and a half years ago. Since then she had been making her way back to Ba Sing Se, where she could arrange meeting there.

Zuko, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki and Iroh then explained what they did during the war period. Ursa and, secretly, Alex, were saddened that Katara and Sokka had lost their mother at such a young age 11 years ago, feeling related to them in that he too had lost a parent, only the fact that he killed his father himself causing it to hurt more so. Aang explained how he ran away to prevent himself from being separated from his teacher, Gyatso, and was caught in a storm and frozen by the avatar state for 100 years. Toph recollected how she had been born blind, and taught herself earthbending to see using vibrations, like a sonar scanner of sorts. Suki explained her life briefly how she grew up on Kyoshi island as a part of a group of female warriors central to island traditions.

Zuko and Iroh then recollected how Zuko spoke against a general's plans to use an untrained regiment as bait for an attack, and how his father burnt and banished him as punishment for speaking out of turn, saying he could only return if he captured the avatar. As soon as he finished, Ursa came over and wrapped her arms around Zuko, the latter letting long unshed tears loose. Ursa comforted her son, as he spilled his inner fears: "I thought for so long you were gone. After you left everything got worse."

As they continued, Iroh and the others explained what happened in events relating to Zuko, his exploits up to the North Pole siege, being fugitives, the betrayal in Ba Sing Se, Zuko's eventually joining of the avatar and final defeat of Azula, while Aang defeated the fire lird.

As Alex listened, he realized he had stumbled upon a world that had just crawled out of a devastating war, akin to the one he abandoned when he fled after the Martian assault. He could relate to these people, he had experienced scarring both physical and emotional, and had been involved in events which could have been avoided had war not broken out.

It was then that Ursa turned to Alex: "What about you? What's your story?" Caught with a foot in a bucket, Alex decided to give them an abridged version of his story:

"It's a long one. I never knew my real parents, I was raised by some farmers who found my parents killed by robbers with me left alive at 4 months old. For 10 years I lived a simple life, until a group of bandits raided the farm. They destroyed the crops and killed the animals, and after that day I couldn't face what had happened."

Alex turned away, memories of the day on Pandora, of torturing Eywa, killing H'nuptec and setting his father's and his own dead body, along with Quirinth's unconscious body, on his old friends, and traumatizing his mother in doing so. Katara asked him in a soft voice: "What happened that day?"

"I ran into the house to see my stepmother tied against a wall, while a bandit choked my stepfather by his neck. I acted on impulse, and grabbed a nearby knife, and threw it at the bandit. He was too fast. He swung my stepfather in front of the knife, and it stabbed him in the back."

Alex bowed his head in shame: "I killed my father inadvertently, right in front of my mother. All I did was try to do the right thing, to stop the bandit. But I failed, and I ended up making things worse. He ran off after my father was stabbed, since I collapsed in grief then. After that day it got worse, my mother became more and more grieving and withdrawn from me, and as she spoke of what happened to her friends, the truth was twisted. When things got too bad, I was practically driven out of my home village by the people I had grown up with."

"Ever since then, I wandered the Earth Kingdom, looking for any jobs I could to get by. But things got worse, as I constantly tried to help people, but often ended up screwing something up that turned them against me. Eventually, I gave up helping people, and started caring only for myself, and I found myself in Ba Sing Se looking for a job."

"A wealthy merchant took me in as a delivery boy, because of my extensive travels, and I worked for him ever since. He's worked me hard, and he only cares about the profits I bring him. Even during the occupation of the capital I still ran his errands and deliveries. I was on my way back from the town of Don Bieng when I met Ursa, and so we came here together. And that's basically it."

Zuko stared up at Alex, noticing the blank look on his face, and said: "You don't seem bothered by all of that." Alex shook his head, and said: "After 3 years I grew accustomed to it, and luckily I was taken up as delivery boy 3 years ago. Although I'm going to quit my job when a new opportunity presents itself."

Sokka looked at the long cut scar on Alex's left cheek, and asked him: "How did that happen to you?" Alex traced a finger, remembering the feeling of having the Romulan's plasma blade slice his cheek open during the globe match. He told a different story: "When I tried to help a village against a group of robbers, which by then I'd become adept with twin swords, I got into a fight with one of them. He overpowered me, and he got in a lucky slash across my face. I only stopped him by stabbing him in the gut, but even then I was developing an unwanted reputation with the villagers, so I was made to leave after I was stitched up. Luckily it's held since then."

"Sounds like you've been through a lot then." Said Toph, who had been listening to his story with gradual attentiveness as he went on. Alex nodded, and said: "Oh yes, a lot more than I would care to share right now."

About half an hour after sharing stories, Zuko had retired to the couch, and Ursa was sitting beside him, an arm wrapped protectively around the fire lord's shoulders. Sokka and Suki had began to play a friendly game of Pai Sho with Iroh, the older man proving able to match a pair of people working together. Aang and Toph had gone outside, the latter still coaching the Avatar in earthbending to fully master it.

Alex looked around at the tranquil scene while leaning against a wall. How long had it been since he had experienced such innocence and joy. Yet, he felt out of place here, as if he were a stranger intruding on their time of joy. Everyone looked serenely happy, as if it were from a dream.

Well, almost everyone.

While scanning the room, Alex saw Katara off to one side, looking on at Zuko and Ursa while leaning against a pillar. She was holding a necklace and pendant on her neck gently, her eyes beginning to shimmer with tears as she watched the mother-son reunion. Cautiously, Alex walked over to her quietly, so she only noticed him when he was right beside her.

"You seem sad. Care to share your thoughts?" Alex asked with a concerned look on his face. As he asked, Katara looked sadly at the floor, and said in a voice only he could hear: "I'm just happy that Zuko found his mom. But, it just makes me miss my own mother so much. This is all I have left of her." Alex looked at what she gestured to, a pendant necklace, with wave decorations carved into the stone. Then, Alex understood:

"I see. You're happy that Zuko found his mother, yet at the same time you're partially jealous of him." Katara looked at him, and look of shame passed her face: "I know, I feel terrible that I'm jealous of him. I really shouldn't be."

Alex then told her: "Nonsense. Of course you're going to be jealous of him, you just have to accept that you are. Just don't let your jealousy trample over Zuko's joy. You wouldn't want Zuko being jealous and ruining it if your mother reunited with you somehow, would you?"

"No, I guess not." Said Katara, the tears in her eyes beginning to dry. She then looked at Alex: "What about your mom?" Alex slumped his shoulders: "I never got over having to leave her, but I found out she died from heartbreak a few months after the day I accidentally killed my father and was driven out. I still regret that day more than anything."

At the last statement, Alex's voice wavered a bit, as an old pain resurfaced. At this, Katara looked up at him, only now realizing how much taller he was than anyone. Where she, Suki, Toph, Ursa and even Mai were all between 5 foot 6 and 5 foot 10, Zuko, Sokka, Iroh and Aang were all between 5 foot 8 an 6 foot, with Aang hitting his puberty growth spurt and now matching Katara in height. Alex however was a giant, at 6 foot 6 inches. Yet here was this big, strong person, emotionally crumbling at his own memories.

As Alex fought down the old pain, Katara pulled him into a hug, the top of her head only coming to the top of his chest: "It's alright, you didn't mean to kill your dad, and I'm sure your mother still loved you to no end."

As Alex allowed Katara to hug him, the first time anyone hugged him in months, he thought to himself: _If only that were true._ His family hated him probably, and he would actually not be surprised if Firi'sry died of heartbreak.

Katara then pulled away, and asked: "Better?"

"A bit."

"Good, I can't stand when people are sad, so I try to help them however I can."

Alex then heard what sounded like an earthquake, and then a faint yell: "C'mon Twinkletoes! You need to be alert." "Sorry!"

Katara then walked towards the courtyard entrance, a small balcony outside the tea shop. Alex decided to follow, and heard Katara say herself: "Great spirits, what are up to now?"

As the two came to view the courtyard, they saw Toph launch a large boulder at Aang, who managed to deflect if back at Toph with little effort. As it flew at Toph, she stuck a fist out, and smashed the rock into dust as it hit the fist. Almost immediately, she kicked the ground, and sent a wave of stone paving towards Aang. He quickly countered by using Earthbending to hit the incoming wave, cancelling it out. As he prepared to attack again, Toph rubber her hands together and called: "Alright Aang, that's enough for now."

At this, Aang visibly slumped a bit in tiredness. He looked up at the balcony, and saw that Katara was coming down the stairs to meet him, with Alex in tow. Aang stumbled over to Katara, who wrapped her arms around him in a loving gesture.

"How'd training go today?"

"Toph worked me to the bone as usual, I feel sore all over."

Katara kissed Aang on the cheek, and then began to escort him inside: "C'mon, I can give you a massage inside, I know how much you like them." Aang smiled at her, and said: "You always know my weaknesses don't you?"

As the couple walked off hand in hand, Alex and Toph looked on at them in mixed emotions. Alex then spoke: "Is he always this head over heels for her?"

Toph replied with a shrug of her shoulders: "No, just for nearly two years now. I'm betting once Aang hits sixteen, he'll ask her to marry him the second he can."

Alex was surpirsed at this, although he took it in his stride. Apparently on this world marriage age was sixteen. Although it was 18 in the UIP and Alliance, a civilization less technologically advanced, like this world, would likely have more relaxed laws on marriage.

It was then that Toph asked: "So you said you can use double swords?" Alex turned to face the nearly 15 year old blind girl, and said: "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well, Sokka and Zuko both know how to use swords, and Suki has her fans, so I was thinking you four could spar one another. I don't think you'll be able to take on any of us benders." Alex nodded: "Dually noted, I don't want to be on the receiving end of your bending anytime soon. By what I saw, you could create an earthquake if you wanted to."

Toph smiled at the apparent compliment, and then Alex remembered that he could not unfold his swords, lest his ploy be ruined, so he devised a way to appear to have them as constantly unfolded. However, he needed a concealed place to unfold them, like an abandoned alley, so he devised a quick plan to not be seen doing it. He said to Toph: "Hang on, you get Sokka, Suki and Zuko, I just need to get my swords. I left them in the shop, I hardly take them when delivering." He ran off into the streets, yelling: "I'll be about 5 minutes!"

Shaking her head at his lack of preparation, Toph turned to walk inside to invite three of her friends to spar against this newcomer.

After unfolding his swords, to leave them unfolded from now on, Alex ran back to the Jasmine Dragon after leaving for five minutes. He saw that Toph had gathered Sokka, Suki and Zuko in the centre of the courtyard, to whom he ran over and stopped before, to catch his breath.

"Sorry about that, I had to get these-" He pointed to his swords, which passed off as regular blades when not in vibration or plasma setting: "-from the shop. Oh, and I no longer work there now. I took my pay for the mission, and quit."

"Good for you! Now get a move on, I wanna see some action!" Shouted Toph, impatient to see, or feel, the sparring. In the courtyard, Sokka said: "Hey, how we have a tournament? Two matches, winners fight each other, and losers fight for third place. Well?"

All three others nodded, and then Alex said: "I'd like to fight Zuko. He uses twin swords, like me. So he should be able to give me a good practise session."

"Practise?" Zuko said, an amused smirk on his face caused by Alex's apparent overconfidence. Sokka and Suki nodded at this, agreeing to fight each other in their first match. It was decided that Sokka and Suki would fight first.

As Alex took his seat with the rest of the group, who had come to watch a display of non-bending skills, he contemplated that this kind of combat skill was one he would be much better off against compared to bending. After all, he was an almost unmatched swordsman back in the war.

The match started, and Sokka and Suki began to circle one another in anticipation of a first attack. It was Sokka who attacked first, charging forwards with his sword extended outwards in aggression. With great agility, Suki sidestepped Sokka's charge, and as he passed by, unfolded her steel fans. She then blocked another swipe from Sokka, and counterattacked with a left uppercut.

The fight was back and forth for two minutes, each of them testing the other's patience and endurance. Sokka was physically stronger , with more strength behind each of his strikes. However, Suki was more agile, and was able to dodge Sokka's attacks more easily than he could dodge her own. As such, the fight was even.

Except for mental endurance.

As the fight would show, Suki had more patience in combat than her boyfriend, as Sokka became more and more reckless and desperate as the fight went on. Finally, the end came when Sokka tried a bold move.

With a battle cry, Sokka threw all of his weight into a lateral swipe, turning the blade so that the flat side would hit, minimizing damage dealt. As the blade closed in, Suki jumped and twisted her body, arcing over the blade as it sailed underneath her. As she landed, Sokka had stumbled at the missed blow, leaving him wide open. She swung out with her leg, and took Sokka's feet from under him. He fell to the floor with a thud, and before he could respond, Suki had pinned him with her boot, a fan pressed against his neck. Suki smirked at her fallen boyfriend, and said: "Guess I win."

Sokka wheezed out: "Okay you win."

Suki then pulled Sokka up, and with a quick peck on his cheek, she triumphantly marched over to the balcony, where the rest of the group were applauding her victory. Sokka then said: "Guess that means you'll fight whoever wins next, Alex or Zuko."

As she watched Alex and Zuko take up positions in the courtyard, she said: "I look forward to that."

Now it was time for Zuko and Alex to face each other. With their swords drawn, they waited for one to make a move. Although they both used twin swords, their fighting styles were completely different. Zuko focused on combining the two swords into a single, more effective extension of his body, which could also be used in tandem with his firebending.

Alex on the other hand, could use his twin swords separately, using fast, agile attacks or strong, successive attacks to overwhelm his opponents, never giving them an inch in which to retaliate. Unlike Zuko, who believed in honourable fighting, Alex was not afraid to use trickery and dirty moves to fight, he was a pragmatist, and believed that all was fair in combat.

Zuko attacked first, charging at Alex with both swords aligned to work as one. Alex struck out with one sword, deflecting the pair of swords off to the side. In a blur, Zuko span around and swiped at Alex's legs, but equally quickly was how Alex's single blade met Zuko's blades. All the while, Alex never used more than on sword arm, the other remaining idle in combat, used more as balance.

As the fight drew on, Alex saw that Zuko had begun to fight with two separate swords more and more, swinging at one part of Alex's body while stabbing at another. More and more, Alex was forced to respond. However, in previous fights, he had used his 'dark abilities' to invisibly enhance his agility and power, and even incorporate it into his swordplay as Zuko did with his firebending. However, today he would not need to do that, for his mechanical limbs would suffice for speed and power with plenty of energy to spare.

As Zuko swung once more, his blades coming down in a V-shaped arc, Alex swung his own tow blades to meet them, locking together as they clashed. The two men struggled [well one did, the other only appearing to], and they were evenly matched in strength. Then Alex shifted his feet, so that one foot was taking more weight than another. Surprised, Zuko pressed harder, hoping to cause Alex to lose balance. Yet the two remained locked, as Alex fought back with equal strength. As Zuko strained, he suddenly felt something slam into his thigh, causing him to yell in pain.

To the group, they had seen Alex suddenly raise up one leg and kick Zuko hard in the thigh, swinging from the side. Ursa looked on with worry, as she saw her son collapse slightly at the pain. As he crumbled, Alex shoved Zuko's blades away, and then swung his blades into position. Before they met flesh, he slowed them, and merely tapped Zuko's body with them, to signal his victory.

Zuko looked at where the blades were now. One was pressing softly into his waist, and the other was raised sideways, as if it had been ready to catch any blows Zuko could have dealt. Alex smirked at this, and said: "Good effort, gave me quite a challenge."

Alex withdrew his swords, dropping them to his side. Zuko said: "Wasn't that a bit of a dirty trick you pulled?" Alex shook his head, and said: "In combat, one must abandon such needless things like honour and dignity if one is to guarantee victory. Besides, had I not done it, the fight would have probably drawn on too long."

Alex bowed to Zuko, and thanked him for the duel. At this, Zuko walked off, calling Suki up to fight.

As Suki walked into position, Alex thought long and hard at how he too could manipulate an element, like those watching his duel. Although, his element he used only rarely, and maintaining the mysteriousness of it to intimidate his opponents. Here though, he could perhaps use it for better purposes.

His element was akin to darkness most likely. It was more versatile than air, water, fire or earth. And yet, it was not an element, more a technology closely imbedded into his being to the point where it seemed second nature to use it. The element, which Alex called 'dark matter', 'dark substance' or 'dark power', was aptly named because it resembled shadows when its cloaking abilities were off, or that it could blend in with the background, taking any colour he wished, like invisibility. He could manipulate objects, move them, crush them, arrange them, and even drill into them. The 'dark matter' was actually a large collection of very tiny, nanomorphic robots, which could bind together to form complex structures at his command. Although versatile, they needed help when making or manipulating large objects. To help, Norstith had installed neurological enhancers in Alex's brain, which could act only on the nanomorphic dark matter, to help support it in larger commands. When the two worked as one, Alex could pull off feats that seemed supernatural, or in the case of animating dead or unconscious bodies, monstrous. Needless to say, Alex had devised many different ways of using the dark matter, some ways being useful and helpful, others being more sinister.

However, Alex was not quite ready to reveal his powers just yet, and for now, in his mock duel against Suki, he would rely on his skills and strength alone.

Having seen how Suki fought, Alex decided to open up with the first attack. He crossed his swords in front of him in an X shape and ran towards her. She met deflected the charge with one fan, pushing Alex away, and with her other fan she swung around to get him in the back. She had been anticipating him to swing around in response to the swipe, his sword to come around to block her fan. As his sword clashed with her fan, they locked in place. His other sword locked with her other fan, above their heads.

Suki then decided to pull a trick Alex used. She quickly shifted her weight onto one foot, and struck out at Alex, hitting him square in the thigh. He visibly winced, but his stance did not falter at all. He then said to her with some strain: "You think I wouldn't be ready for a move I pulled moments ago?"

Then, Alex began applying much more strength onto his sword arms, slowly forcing Suki onto her knees to hold him off. He had caught her in a trap, exploiting her lesser physical strength, and robbing her of the ability to dodge. As she was forced down, Suki knee she was in trouble, and decided to improvise. Alex was a big person, and compared to him she was small, so a plan quickly formed in her mind.

Suddenly, the resistance Suki put against Alex's blades disappeared, and Alex found himself stumbling slightly as Suki collapsed to the floor, his legs now standing over her. Quickly, she kicked upwards, booting him thoroughly in the rear and sending him tumbling away, leaving her time to get up and into combat stance again.

Rolling from the blow, and then standing again, Alex commented: "Using your smaller size to sneak around me, very devious." After his comment, Alex charged at Suki, his body now spinning and twisting with his blades, creating a maelstrom of deadly grace and power. With no chance of blocking all of them, Suki was forced to duck, weave, sidestep and leap away from each swipe or stab. She was shocked by this change in tactics, not expecting Alex to have such great speed and agility.

From then on, the fight was rather one sided, with Suki only being able to get in an odd swipe or slash with her fans during the brief relaxation of Alex's onslaught. During this, Alex had revealed to Suki how he fought, by overwhelming his opponents, never once providing an opportunity to strike back. As this would go on, desperation would be brought out in his opponent, where they would make a normally fatal mistake or move.

Suki fell into this category, as she watched Alex come in, swords extended to the side like wings, fast. She prepared her fans, taking aim with one carefully. If she timed this right, she would win. As Alex came within 15 metres, she threw her left fan hard, fully extended, so it sailed through the air lick a frisbee.

Alex had not expected such an attack, and went into a double jump to avoid. He first made a little jump, to gain momentum. Then, as he landed mid run, he jumped hard, and twisted in midair to see the fan zoom by underneath him with 2 feet to spare. To thee group's amazement, Alex barrel rolled through the air, rising five feet off the ground in his leap, sending him directly into Suki.

Despite Suki putting up her fan in defence, it was hopeless for her. Alex hit her full force, his left sword smashing into her right fan like a stampeding bison. She fell down hard, and Alex grabbed her shoulder with his left hand, sword now held between his skin and her shoulder. As they slid to a stop on the pavement, Alex brought his other sword to hr throat, physically declaring his victory.

Off to the side, the Gaang ran onto the courtyard, cheering for both warriors' efforts. Alex grabbed Suki's hand and helped her up to her feet, before Sokka wrapped her in a hug: "You were great Suki, and I say that as a fellow warrior and your boyfriend."

"Thanks Sokka." At this, Sokka kissed her on the forehead, while Alex visibly grimaced at their public display. As Alex walked off, he was confronted by Aang and Zuko, who asked him: "Where did you learn that?"

Alex looked at them quizzically, and as he walked towards the Jasmine Dragon, read to embark on a fresh start to his life, he simply said back:

"Self taught."


	9. Chapter 9

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 9: Ambush and acceptance.**

**6****th**** January 2900**

**Royal Palace, Fire Nation Capital, 1200 light years from Sol.**

Alex watched Zuko and Aang firebend, the former helping the Avatar fully master the element, as he had only become suitably adept at it when facing Ozai two years ago.

Two weeks had passed since Alex's arrival, and progress on both of his areas on this world were going smoothly. The island base was well established, and it was only the defensive infrastructure, such as satellites, base shielding and turrets, that needed construction now. Also critically, Alex's order for a robotic partner, a deputy administrator and second in command, were well under way. The body would take only a day, but the software and processing hardware was what was difficult about creating this super intelligent robotic being. The robot needed to be able to think as fast as a human, and when combined with its more efficient method of thinking and learning, would be able to out think Alex easily. To counter any fears, he had ordered a remote off switch be installed when completed, in case he became 'unruly'. He would prefer not to do such an act of repression to one he wished to treat as a partner and friend and pupil, but Alex was careful not to take any risks.

On a more personal note, Alex had been getting on well with the so called Gaang, as Sokka called it. During his week stay with them, he found himself dragged into peace meetings and trade disputes, which he found interesting compared to the how the others viewed them.

At least that's what they thought, as Alex kept trying to find ways of how to sleep with his eyes open during the meetings, with little success.

Still, he did feel sorry for Zuko and Aang, who as Firelord and Avatar respectively, actually had to take an active part of the meetings, which unfortunately involved:

"Avatar Aang! Are you listening?" The Earth Kingdom official asked, her brows furrowing in annoyance at the 15 year old boys lack of concentration.

Aang snapped to attention, saying: "Yes ma'am!"

"What is your verdict on the recent trade proposal?"

"Er, which one would that be again?"

Seated beside him, Zuko fought down the urge to facepalm.

Up in the audience stands, Alex grimaced as he watched one of his new friends making a fool of himself, in a board room no less. Once again, Sokka had fallen asleep, and Suki and Toph were struggling to stay awake. Katara was staring dazedly at Aang, probably picturing him and her on an upcoming date, or perhaps on a more dirty possibility, Aang naked.

As he tried once again to sleep with eyes open, Alex remembered when Katara told him of how marriage customs on this world were that 16 was the minimum age, and that she was technically of marrying age. He had choked on his drink that day.

He turned his attention back to the court, where Aang spoke against the trade proposal, backing up Zuko.

"The taxes on the Fire Nation for importing goods from the Earth Kingdom are too high! They need a fairer rate!"

"That may be, but we need the money to rebuild our kingdom after the war two years ago, which is still ongoing as I may remind you."

Finally, Alex gave up staying awake, and closed his eyes.

As the group exited the courtroom, Sokka yawned, and said: "Man that was a good batch of politics."

Alex retorted to him: "You spent the entire session asleep. Two minutes in and your snoring like a foghorn." Sokka opened his mouth to retort: "Don't pull the fact that I fell asleep too on me, because I only fell asleep three quarters of the way through it! Besides, little actual decisions seemed to be made anyway!"

Sokka slumped dejectedly, as he had discovered on Alex's week long stay that he was almost impossible to win an argument with in his case.

Toph laughed at Sokka's loss of yet another dispute, and said: "You'd make a good politician Snoozles, you're just as hopeless at arguing good cases as they are."

"Hey, I am not useless at arguing!"

Suki, ignoring Sokka's whining, then asked Toph: "Hey, we all have nicknames from you, I just realized that Alex doesn't have one."

Alex proudly said: "Maybe I'm hard to pin down personality-wise."

Toph then punched Alex in the shoulder, proclaiming: "No, I just waited until now to say it." As Alex nursed his shoulder, surprised that her hitting his mechanical arm would still hurt his organic shoulder remnant somehow, Suki and Sokka asked: "Oh, so what are you calling him?"

"Dimwit. He's witty and he uses darkness, or dimness."

Alex looked her, and asked: "You won't call me that in public will you?"

"I will now since you're complaining."

Alex's face fell in defeat, and he uttered a single curse:"Shit."

Sokka now laughed at Alex, who sheepishly followed them to meet Aang, Zuko and Katara, the latter having rushed ahead to meet Aang.

Later, at in the afternoon, at about 3:00pm according to Alex's clock, Aang and Zuko were practising their firebending in the palace courtyard. Zuko was continuing to teach Aang firebending, as it was the last element he needed to fully master before his avatar training was fully complete.

As Aang deflected another fireball, he caught sight of Katara waterbending at a nearby fountain. Momentarily distracted, he only barely dodged the next fireball:

"Look at your girlfriend in your own time!" Zuko wished to command Aang's full attention whenever he trained him. Whenever Katara was nearby, Aang always seemed slightly distracted. Not that he was complaining of course, because if he got hurt, it meant he could spend time with Katara in a healing session.

Nearby, Toph practised her metalbending on some spare metal plating had brought from a scrapyard. As she bent the metal, she moved very fluidly within a set of full body armour she had created form it, bending the relatively poor quality metal with her body as she moved.

Off to the edge, Alex admired her ability to bend Earth in such a unique way, while also making sure he kept his limbs well clear of her whenever she did. It was then that she called him over:

"Alex, can you come here a second?"

"Oh, er, alright." Alex ran over to Toph, who had now peeled off her armour like a set of metal clothing. As he arrived, she roughly grabbed him and held him in place, and placed a finger against his neck. A few seconds passed, before Alex asked: "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Checking to see if you really have no heartbeat."

_OH FUCK! _He had forgotten this. Had he had a proper heart in this situation, it would have been hammering. Toph then stepped backwards from Alex, which was when he realized how short she was compared to him.

While Aang and Sokka matched height at 5 foot 10 inches, Zuko at 6 foot, Katara and Suki at 5 foot 8 inches, Toph was the shortest among them at 5 foot 7 inches. Compared to her, Alex's 6 foot 6 inch body towered above her. And yet, she was still intimidating.

Toph looked up at him, and said: "I know you have no heartbeat, but I'm not going to question how you're alive. It's like people not fully understanding that being blind is not a disadvantage to me."

Alex, seeing she wasn't going to blab on him, decided to expand for her: "Alright, you got me. I just don't want to be seen as unnatural okay? I already use powers not used by anyone else, and I was born like this. I have a heart, but it's just different to other peoples' hearts. I don't know how, but it doesn't beat, it just constantly pushes blood around my body, so no beats can be felt by you."

Toph looked at Alex again, and said: "Okay you big dimwit, I won't tell anyone, although Aang probably knows too, so I'll tell him to not blab if that's the case."

Alex sighed in relief, and placed his hands on her shoulders in a thanking gesture: "Thank you so much. I won't complain about you calling me dimwit now or ever again."

"Sure thing."

After Alex lowered his arms from her shoulders, she punched him hard in the shoulder, the same one as before today. He winced in pain, and asked: "Hey, why do you always punch people in the shoulder?"

"Its how I show affection."

"I've heard of tough love, but you make it literal."

Toph laughed at the joke, and commented as she walked off: "You're much better at jokes than Snoozles is. You just need to loosen up a bit more at times. See ya."

As she walked off, Alex found himself mesmerized by her, her small body swaying side to side in a slightly seductive manner.

Alex mentally slapped himself: _You're 18, she's 15, she's not even a legal adult yet!_

A small part of his mind did say: _But she will be in just under a year._

At the palace gates, the front guards halted a delivery carriage chain. The armoured royal guards walked up the driver:

"State your business."

"Food delivery for the royal kitchens."

"Got any forms to prove it."

The driver dug into his pockets, and found the form. He handed it to the guard, who checked it, and then signalled to the other guards to let the carriage chain through. Thanking the guards, the driver signalled to the chain to move, and the ostrich horses began to pull forwards.

Inside, the rebels planned their next move, now clear of the first obstacle.

The training session had now ended, and the Gaang had retired into the main palace sitting area for some tea and rest. Aang and Katara were cuddling on the couch, while Sokka became interested in the snacks that had been brought by the servants. Off to the side, Suki was swapping funny life stories with Ursa, and Zuko was lying on the couch, his head being stroked by Mai as they lay in each other's embrace.

The group was short of only 3 people. Iroh was now living full time in Ba Sing Se, overseeing his tea shop. Toph and Alex were still outside, both of them having gone off to do their own thing.

All of a sudden, the windows were slammed shut as men swarmed the sitting room, also running through the doors. Before they could even respond, the men had seized Aang, Zuko and Katara, and began to quickly bind and gag them. Quick to respond, Mai unsheathed her knives and began throwing them at the intruders, pinning two to the walls before she too was grabbed from behind.

Sokka moved in front of Suki and Ursa, using his long sword to fight off one intruder, only to be grabbed from the side. As this happened, Suki and Ursa were bound also.

Within 3 minutes the entire Gaang had been immobilized, their bending now useless against their restraints, as well as any other weapons they had.

From the main doors, the Commander stepped into view, and slammed the doors shut behind him, locking them thoroughly. He then walked over to his captured prey. As he stopped in front of them, his thick black sideburns and beard dominated his face, and his fierce yellow eyes, iconic of the fire nation, gleamed with malicious intent. By his side, two long axes hung, their heads sharpened very recently.

From their positions, all of the Gaang looked up at the commander, recognizing him as the leader of the fire rebels from the posters they frequently dropped. He then spoke to them, addressing Aang, Katara and Zuko more so than the others:

"Well, well, what have I found here? A group of full blown traitors and enemies to the great Phoenix King and his daughter, the true rulers of the fire nation and the world."

He then spoke to them in a harsh whisper: "I believe we have some business we must attend to. Let us begin."

Outside, Toph had been walking around the gardens, feeling her surroundings and the buildings. Then, she sensed that her friends had been ambushed, and were now in peril.

Looking for help, Toph detected Alex's non-beating signal, and she rushed over to him, in a courtyard opposite. She ran into him, and grabbed his shoulder while pointing to the palace:

"Alex, the Gaang's in trouble, they've been ambushed in the palace sitting room!"

Alex whirled around, shocked at this development: "What! Are you sure?"

"Yes! C'mon!" Toph then yanked on Alex's arm, and half dragged him towards the palace.

When they got near to the windows, Alex quickly stopped, keeping Toph back. He then pulled a hand over her mouth, silencing her. He then ducked them into a bush, and whispered to her: "If we charge in there now, they may just kill them there and then. We need to be subtle in our approach."

Toph yanked his hand away, and said: "Oh, OK. Got any bright ideas?"

Alex looked up at the roof, and asked: "Aside from the doors and windows, is there any other way to get into that room?"

Toph stayed silent for a moment, and then answered: "There's a small vent on the roof, big enough for us to jump right into the room."

Alex looked up: "That'll be a good 50 foot drop. I can get through undetected, but you'll be seen and heard instantly. I'll go ahead and get in, get their attention."

"Where does that leave me?"

"You get some guards that you know are loyal to Zuko, and bring them here for backup. We need to ensure none of them escape. After that, if I'm still busy, come and help me."

"Alright, get going then." Toph shoved him out the bush, and with a slight grumble, Alex began to climb the building, using his dark matter to form a floating platform to fly onto the roof with. As he rose, he saw Toph silently run towards the main gates, where the nearest guards were stood.

He dismissed his platform, landing silently on the roof. He looked at the vent, and saw that it was an open one. Thanking his luck that he didn't have to cut through anything, Alex made himself invisible, the dark matter engulfing him and then cloaking. Under this veil, he summoned some invisible tendrils to lower him down into the room silently, latching them onto the vent edge as he lowered himself into the sitting room.

As he descended, he looked around. He saw that all of the doors and windows were shut and obscured, and only the fire from the torches and some of the intruders' hands lit the room in a dim glow. After 10 seconds descent, he touched down on the wooden floor, and dismissed the cloaked tendril ropes. Upon hearing the conversation, Alex silently moved to the edge of the room, backing against a wall so as to scan each enemy.

He counted 14 men in the room, and one of them was talking to the gang now. As Alex prepared for his strike, he summoned all of the dark matter he had, having increased his carrying capacity since his arrival. By secret air deliveries from his base, Alex had gained access to more supply of his special 'element' from the supply he could manufacture at his base. In his bag that he always had on him, he still hid his foldable combat helmet, where he hid the excess stores of dark matter. Drawing his helmet, still fully under cloaking, he silently unfolded it, and the dark matter stored there fell under his power. He then placed the helmet on his head, ready to use its equipment to end this fight quickly.

During all this, he listened to the apparent leader of the intruders talk:

"You're crimes against the true leadership of our beloved nation have come to an end this day, as we shall slay you and your friends, and restore Phoenix King Ozai and Fire Lord Azula to their rightful places of power!"

Aang, having had his gag removed, snapped back: "All you'll be doing is creating more pain and suffering in the world. Ozai was a tyrant, and-" He was cut off by a sharp punch in the face, which earned the commander a verbal assault from and also de-gagged Katara: "You monster! Aang saved the world from the Firelord, and Ozai deserves to rot in prison!"

"Shut your mouth! It was by you hand and Ozai's treacherous son here-" he pointed violently at Zuko: "That Princess Azula lost her throne, and you drove her to insanity by doing just that!"

"You won't get away with this! Your kind of people never do!" Exclaimed Sokka, who had no bending, had not been given a gag like Aang, Katara and Zuko had. The commander turned to him, and said: "Well then, perhaps I should break that tradition by actually succeeding."

He snapped to his men, and as he walked towards the door, he said: "When I leave, I shall spread word of this in the town, declaring our victory against the treacherous leaders you are. And within 2 minutes of me leaving, my men shall execute you. Goodbye."

He unblocked the door, and stepped out into the hallway, donning a royal guard disguise as he went. Then the door shut, and the room became as dim as before.

Off to the side, Alex moved in unseen, as two minutes was plenty of time.

Toph ran with a set of Royal guards to the palace, having gathered a dozen or so loyal ones to help her rescue her friends. Even from nearly half a kilometre away, she could feel what was going on in the palace. She felt that no one had died yet, and her friends, the troopers and Alex were all in the room.

Then she felt one of them leave, one of the intruders.

She ordered to the guards: "One of them is escaping out the south exit, get him!"

"But miss, how do you-"

"JUST DO IT!"

"R-Right away! You two, follow me, the rest stay with Ms. Bei Fong!"

As the three guards took off in pursuit of the escapee, or the commander, Toph ran faster towards the palace, making sure her approach and that of the guards was silent but quick.

As she neared the courtyards, she felt Alex suddenly move, and then one of the intruders keeled over, his heart no longer beating.

Inside, the troopers watched the prisoners, eager to get going with the executions. Just 1 more minute and they would be free to kill these traitors.

As they watched, their vision was suddenly blackened, as something, not the wind, extinguished the torch fires and the fires in their hands. They gave out cries of surprise:

"What's going on?"

"The Avatar and his friends are bound, they couldn't do it!"

"Get a fire up now-ugh!"

The last guard stuttered, as the sound of something stabbing him echoed through the completely dark hall. Apparently not hearing it, the soldiers lit another fire in their palms. As the room lit, they saw one of their troopers hit the floor, blood beginning to pool from the sword hole made in his heart.

In their gags, the group recoiled, screaming in surprise, and the troopers jumped away from their ally's body in shock, unsure of what just happened.

Above the body, Alex smirked under his mask, still invisible to the eyes, even undetected by Aang, whose feet were covered by his boots now. He reformed the dark matter back into his hand, the sharp spear he generated working brilliantly. He looked at the nearest soldier, and focused his dark matter into his index and middle finger. Then, he brought its aim to bare, and launched it like a bullet.

As the soldier stepped towards the body, a spray of blood erupted from the back of his head, as something tore through his skull like a point blank arrow. He too keeled over, falling backwards from the force of the hit.

In panic, the troopers launched fire in random directions in the room, which only narrowly avoided the Gaang. As they set the room alight, they saw the room begin to darken, as some unseen force extinguished the flames.

Alex covered the flames in a seal of dark matter, starving them of oxygen to burn. He then saw that this was taking too long, and decided to drop the play acting. He deactivated his cloaking field, quickly drew his twin swords, and leapt towards the furthest guard, letting out a yell as he went, made into a demonic roar as he coated himself in dark matter, and launched towards him like a cannonball.

As the last flames were extinguished, a dark shape materialized in the dim lit room, like a shadow come to life. Before they could respond, it drew two long swords, and rocketed towards the door soldier in a dark meteor charge. The soldier screamed in fear, as he was slashed by the outstretched sword and the whip-like dark tendrils as the figure flashed by. He crumpled to the floor, almost cut on half at the waist.

With a quick stop on the wall, the figure spun to face the other guards, and slashed his swords in midair, sending an X-shaped blast towards them. The closer 4 guards broke multiple ribs from the impact before landing on their backs, and the luckier remaining ones merely were blown against the opposite wall. Then, the figure raised one of his swords, and plunged it into the floor. As the blade punctured the wooden floor, four columns of dark, fiery mass slammed into the four broken guards, winding them as they were driven into the ceiling hard by the rising columns, killing them from the impact.

As the columns disappeared, and the dead bodies began to fall, the figure quickly sheathed its two swords, and raised its hands towards the six remaining guards. From his fingers, just barely visible in the dim lighting, which grew dimmer as more soldiers were slaughtered, leaving less to light the room with firebending, four small dark darts launched at a blinding speed towards four of the guards. Each one found its mark, as each guard slumped against the opposite wall with fresh holes in their skulls. The figure then drew back the darts, converting them into a dark smoke as he did.

Only two guards remained, and their fates would be different. Alex singled out the elder one, the second in command after the departed leader, and he fired a large dark ball at him. As it engulfed the man, he screamed as he was shoved against the wall, the dark mass engulfing him like a net, pinning his arms and legs under it, like a spider's web. Beside him, the younger man paled, as he saw the figure step towards him from the darkness, only barely visible by the lone light from his open flame in his hand.

In panic, the soldier threw himself to the floor, and extinguished his flame, crying: "Please, don't kill me! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

In the pitch black, Alex's night vision made him the only person able to see, and as he looked at the cowering soldier, he felt a twinge of pity:

_He isn't as devoted if he's giving up like this. I can't kill him if he's submitted._

From the darkness, the figure spoke in a demonic, yet understanding tone:

"You made the right choice. As you surrendered, I will not kill you, but you will also reveal your rebel secrets as your superior I spared also will."

In the darkness, the young man cried, and thanked the stranger: "Thank you, thank you! How can I demonstrate my gratitude for you sparing me?"

"As I said, reveal us rebel information in time with your superior. Oh, and also, open the windows so we can see. If you do try anything, I need only remind you that I only need one person for interrogation."

In fear, the younger soldier, ignited another flame, and headed to the sitting room windows, where he quickly opened the blinds and barring panels to flood the room with light again.

As the young man came back, he saw his superior officer still trapped in the dark cocoon, a purplish-black colour, and only allowed him to move his head. The figure it seemed was wearing a black and red lined outfit, a coloured tunic, pants, boots and jacket made to be the same colour. On his head rested a smooth black helmet, with a dark grey jaw structure beneath it. The figure pointed to the bound Gaang, and said in the same demonic voice: "Untie and un-gag them now." The man quickly obeyed, and set to work untying them. As each one was freed, they slowly rose to their feet, hugging each other in comfort at their ordeal, and at the sheer sight of seeing 11 men on the floor, horribly disfigured or resting in a pool of blood.

As the man untied Zuko, the last of the Gaang, he was enveloped in a dark tentacle, and roughly placed beside his officer on the wall, to be encased inside a similar dark cocoon next to him. His work done, the figure began to change. The Black and Red trimming of his outfit changed to black boots, brown pants and tunic and a green and yellow lined vest jacket. The helmet remained unchanged though, but was lifted off the figure's head, to reveal a brown haired youth, 18 years old, and to the Gaang, sporting a familiar cut on the left cheek and ruby red eyes.

As Alex folded up his helmet and bagged it, the doors to the sitting room burst open. Toph stormed into the room, followed by a handful of royal guards. Alex then announced: "Impeccable timing, Toph. We've 2 for the interrogators, and 11 for the morgue." At this, Alex carefully stepped towards the Gaang, avoiding a puddle of blood on the now ruined carpeting and floorboards. As the guards approached the two trapped men, Alex snapped his fingers, dismissing the cocoon, causing the men to fall to the floor, only to be seized by the guards. As they left, the head guard remained behind, and said: "We'll take them to a holding cell for interrogation." As he turned to leave, the other 3 guards met them at the door: "Sir, one of the intruders escaped, he disappeared into the city crowds."

"Damn." The head guard exclaimed. Aang then spoke to them: "We can find out who he was from those two." He nodded towards the two rebels, as they were dragged out of the room. Nodding, the head guard left the room, his men picking up the dead bodies before leaving to line them up outside in the courtyard.

When the guards left, Alex looked at the group, and became worried at their expressions. They were shooting him mixed looks, some of disgust, fear or gratitude. However, he feared rejection again for his harsh methods, and became fearful that he had just ruined his new found friendship after just two weeks. He ran out into the courtyard, away from the room.

After Alex had left, Aang had collapsed onto the floor, gasping at what he had just seen him do: "How could he do such a thing?" Sokka recoiled from the blood stains, and said: "C'mon Aang, you can't say that after he saved all of us." Suki added: "Sokka's right, cruel or not he did save our lives."

Aang shook his head, and said quietly: "I know, but the way he struck them down, it was brutal. They didn't deserve it." Katara grabbed his shoulders, and pulled him up, saying: "Aang, you lived with monks who valued life, but he saved us by taking them out. And if anything, he looked hurt on the inside before he ran off, like he had no other choice."

Ursa then spoke up: "If I may, I can relate to Alex. I committed a villainous act for a noble purpose, he just did the same. Methods aside, we owe him our lives." They all nodded at this, and Zuko asked Toph: "Where is he now?" Feeling briefly, she said: "He's stopped in a nearby courtyard, with a little pond and a tree." Ursa then got up, and began to walk to the door, but not before gesturing to them all: "We should go and thank him, before he begins to think wrongly of us."

Alex sat under the shade of a cherry-blossom tree, the turtle duck pond off to his left side. He silently traced the long scar on his left cheek with his left hand, and held his reshaped helmet in his other hand. He sat deep in thought, sadness overcoming him as he began to silently mutter:

"I disgust them now. I brutally murdered 11 men in front of them. Why can't I now ever commit acts of good without committing vile deeds anymore?"

Silently, he placed the helmet over his head, his tunic, trousers, jacket and boots also reverting to their dark matter coated black and red colours. As the world became visible through the visor, Alex became submerged in his own dark thoughts and memories, the mask helping to hide his pained face.

Whenever he wore his mask and any outfit that went with it, he felt powerful, in control, and the comfort of his own power. He felt naked, weak and sad outside of it, as the world could view him as a monster for just being him, not for becoming a monster in order to protect them, sacrificing his own image to protect them.

In his mask, he felt safe, free from pain, sorrow and anguish.

Ursa led the group towards a nostalgic spot, where she and Zuko would often spend afternoons feeding the turtleducks during his childhood. As she approached, she caught sight of a black boot from around the other side of the tree, right beside the pond.

Approaching him slowly, Ursa rounded the tree, and found herself staring at not the normal Alex, but the black and red masked person he had become in combat. Although now, instead of standing strong, proud and intimidating, he was slumped over, one leg drawn up to his chest, his helmet resting against it. He breathed in very shallow breaths, and took barely any notice of her as she approached. As the rest of them rounded the tree, they were surprised to see him back in his combat suit again.

As Ursa gently reached a hand out to him, she retracted it slightly as his shoulder began to shimmer with some of the dark aura he so wielded. Slowly, his masked head tilted up to look dead ahead, and he said in the same demonic voice, though with sadness laced in its tone: "You despise me now don't you? Because I acted like a monster and slaughtered those men?"

As he finished, Katara stepped forwards and tried to consolidate him: "No, we just want to-" Alex stood up slowly, and said as he rose: "Don't say it. I don't want to hear the words I've heard so many times now. I try to help people, I save lives, protect people by using my own, apparently brutal ways, and they reject me. They reject me because I'm an inhuman monster in their eyes, one who bends the shadows and is thus cast into the shadows in disgrace. They take my help, and then they hate me for how I went about giving them help." As Alex recollected, he was telling the truth of his thoughts, as he felt exactly the same about those people he helped in the UIP and the Alliance in both lives, before he was manipulated into doing less favourable missions.

Suki then stepped forwards, and said to him: "It sound like you have at least one thing in common with us then. You wish to help people, protect them right?"

Alex nodded stiffly, still focused on the grass beneath him, his mask obscuring the pain in his eyes. Sokka then finished for Suki:

"If you want to help people as best you can, then go for it. Don't let what people think of you stop you from doing what's right. You just saved all of us back there, when we would have probably died. You're definitely not a monster to me."

Aang then stepped forwards, an apologetic tone in his voice: "I'd like to say I'm sorry. I was raised by monks to cherish all life. But it is my lifestyle, and I won't force it on anyone else. If your way of dealing with enemies like those you just killed saved us, then I'm forever grateful to you."

As if he was sighing in relief, Alex's clothes reverted to their original brown, green and yellow state. He then carefully removed his helmet, and folded it up into his pocket bag. He then turned around to the group and got on his knees: "You have no idea what this means to me. You are the first people to accept me for who I am and what I do. Please, if you will, let me help you in keeping peace."

Zuko placed a hand on his shoulder, and said: "I would be honoured to have you to help us keep peace."

For the next half hour, Alex and the group relaxed in the same courtyard. Zuko had invited Mai over to the turtleduck pond, where he sat with his her and his mother with a small loaf of bread in his hands.

"I see why you two spent so much time here. It really is peaceful." Said Mai, as she fed a small turtleduck baby a piece of bread.

"Yep, just like old times." Zuko said, as Ursa wrapped an arm around his shoulders, feeding another turtleduck with her other hand.

In another area of the courtyard, Sokka and Suki sat under another tree, holding each other close. Suki said to her boyfriend: "That was a really sweet thing for you to say to Alex. He really looked like he needed it."

Sokka then kissed Suki on the lips, and said: "I'm just being the nice guy that I am."

Suki blushed as she looked into his blue eyes: "Yes, you are my nice guy."

It was then Sokka pulled away, and said: "Suki, I wanted to do this earlier, but the attack really caught me off guard. So I just wanted to ask if you would let me, er, well, here."

He dug a necklace out of his pocket, a blue ribbon with a single round stone, carved with marking of ocean waves, the symbol of the water tribe, and an overlaying set of two fans, the symbol of Kyoshi Island. Suki began to tear up, and asked: "Sokka, is this-?"

"Suki, I've known you for two years now, and I've never met any other girl like you before that I've loved as much, and I want to be yours forever. Will you marry me?"

A few seconds passed, and the Suki slowly took the necklace from Sokka's hand, and said in an increasing voice: "Yes, yes, YES!"

Hearing Suki's joyful screams, Aang and Katara broke apart from their comfortable position on the grass, and Zuko, Mai and Ursa looked over at the happy couple in surprise.

Finally, Toph roughly nudged Alex awake, hitting him in the chest, the latter having fallen asleep under the sun. He bolted upright, and jerked to look at Sokka and Suki, who by now had tackled her boyfriend in a passionate kiss. Katara asked excitedly: "What happened?" Suki broke the kiss, and said: "SOKKA PROPOSED TO ME!"

Katara squealed in excitement, and Aang joined her in running over to congratulate the newly betrothed couple. Zuko and Mai rose up, glad that there was one other wedding besides their own on the way now, and Ursa looked on like anyone would, beaming at the sight of new love fully blooming.

Toph had too ran up to Sokka, and said: "Alright Sokka, about time you did it!"

Alex rolled over and jumped up, walking over to join in the celebration, happy for the new couple, and silently hoping that he could be in Sokka's position one day.

A mere half hour ago, he had been embroiled in fears of being abandoned again due to his brutality. But he had been proven wrong, now knowing he had now fully established himself. And now, he was privileged to experience one of life's greater joys, the emergence of new love into the world.


	10. Chapter 10

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 10: Marriage and infiltration.**

**12****th**** February 2900.**

**Island base, 1200 light years from Sol.**

Over seven weeks had passed since Alex met the Gaang, and five weeks had passed since Alex's triumph over the rebel hostage crisis in the fire royal palace, and Sokka's proposal to Suki.

During this time, Alex had been busy. His workforce had finished establishing all the necessary defensive infrastructure of the island base, and every structure was fully operational. He was now self sufficient in materials, from asteroids and processing plants on the island and on the asteroids themselves. He was also self sufficient in all kinds of fuel his commandeered fleet needed, as well as water, energy, food, manufacturing capability and defence networks. Now all that was left was for Alex to build up his forces by constructing greater numbers of the fleet vehicles he had, as well as new ones from blueprints in the Liberator's databanks. He would manufacture more fighters, bombers, land vehicles, air vehicles, and even sea vehicles, to station on planet level. This would be added to a force stationed in orbit around the planet constantly, which included the Liberator.

All that was left now besides building up forces was his partner's onlining.

For this, Alex had recently returned from a secret, 3 day stay on his island base, where he tested his greatest and most personal creation, a true friend, companion and servant, one who would assist him in is endeavours, and watch over the fully robotically manned force Alex had on the planet.

2 days ago, his creation had come to life, the last program written, and the last welding complete on its body. Alex had chosen the design, and had commissioned it to be a doppelganger of himself. He would appear exactly like himself, with necessary metal colouring and synthetic skin to fully copy Alex's appearance, right down to his red eyes and the scar on his left cheek.

On the workbench, Alex watched as the fusion reactor was installed, and as it powered up, the eyes of his cyborg creation flickering open, flaring an electronic red before settling into Alex's red eye colour. As he looked at the cyborg, alex saw only one difference on the outside, the robot's eyes were slightly brighter than his own.

Slowly, Alex asked the robot: "Can you hear me?" Before onlining him, Alex had downloaded the English, Na'vi, Cybertronian and almost every language he had heard into the robot's data banks, as a start up programming.

The doppelganger's eyes darted to view Alex, and replied: "Yes."

Alex then asked: "Are all of your systems fully working?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. I am Alex, I am your creator."

"You are Alex, you are my creator."

"You shall be my assistant in maintaining this force of robots on this planet."

"I shall be your assistant in maintaining this force of robots on this planet."

Alex smiled, and allowed the cyborg to climb off the table, already curious about the world, so like a child. He would place him under a training programme and data download program, in a hibernative state, while he was away with the Gaang. He would download data on how to administrate and maximize the base force and its efficiency, as long as Alex was incorporated as supreme commander at all times. Still, before Alex placed his new creation into this 'learning sleep', he gave him his designation, an identity to set him apart from his identical creator. Alex decided to add the letter R twice to his own name, and then shift his own name's letters to form this cyborg's name.

ALEXRR. RAXLER

He spoke to the cyborg: "My creation, you can come to see yourself as a son to me, as I will see you as my child in a way. Your name shall be Raxler."

"Raxler. Designation understood."

As Alex left the base, he commanded the robot overseeing Raxler's hibernative download time: "Be sure to install a module to allow him to learn how to speak in a way that can let him blend in with normal humans, and give him the programming to allow himself to develop a personality and express emotions too. I want a friend, not a robot."

The robot nodded, and waved its master off as he left for a elsewhere.

In the base command room, Alex patched one of the computer consoles to the satellite network now in orbit. He was using the satellites and some dispatched recon craft to monitor the fire rebels and their movements, to try and locate their bases. As it turned out, it had been harder to track them than anticipated, as they relied on guerrilla tactics to a certain degree.

But now he had a lead on their headquarters.

His network had tracked the flights of messenger personnel or messenger hawks across the globe, finding any places frequented by them. He figured that the place receiving and sending most messages would be the fire rebel HQ. As he predicted, one location sent and received vastly more messages than any other known rebel hot spot.

On a relatively large island, near the southern tip of the fire nation, message paths were concentrated in a single location. The place itself appeared to be a facility of sorts, most of it buried underground, appearing as an abandoned factory from ground level. It was not unique, just a medium sized building, with walls surrounding it and a courtyard in front of the building. Beneath the ground though, revealed by scans of the area, lay a network of tunnels and rooms, some large enough to house vehicles such as tanks.

This was obviously where the fire rebel HQ was, and Alex was sure to pack what he would need before leaving. Of course he would order a secret drop of supplies when he got to the facility, when the time came.

But for now, he had a more pressing commitment to attend in the South Pole, where Sokka and Suki were getting married, an event to which he had been invited to.

**13****th**** February 2900**

**Southern Water Tribe.**

Alex was half tempted to wear his helmet now, since all the snow and ice was reflecting the sunlight, making the ground somewhat, difficult to look at.

_Guess the brown skin of north and south people helps with sunburn too._

In the winter months of the Southern pole, the sun was constantly in the sky, so night was nonexistent until at least the summer months, when it would be plunged in darkness.

For now though, the brightness of the South Pole reflected the atmosphere of the Southern Water tribe. For today was the wedding of the Chief's son. It had been five weeks since he proposed, and now Sokka and Suki were ready to become man and wife. The preparations were all arranged, as were the guests, and now all were sitting in their fur-lined seats, like pews in a church, inside the Southern Water tribe town hall, built 2 years ago by Northern Water benders.

Alex, in a borrowed water tribe parka and coat, sat in his seat, and looked at a very nervous Sokka up on the stage. Sokka wore a more elaborate parka, adorned with stringed animal teeth, for ceremonial purposes. Behind him, Chief Hakoda discussed last minute preparations with the elders. Looking for confidence, Sokka flashed a look of desperation at Alex, who was the only one of the Gaang sitting in his seat at the time. Knowing he could do it on his own, Alex shook his head while smirking, clearly saying: _You're on your own._

On stage, Sokka began to sweat, his bid for support from Alex falling short of success. His thoughts turned to ones of fretting, as he looked over the other guests in the room. Before today, he had gone to Zuko about the big day, and had merely gotten the response that he should try to keep his cool on the day, as Zuko had managed to during his marriage to Mai. With Zuko out of the question, he had no other people to turn to, as Aang had not been married, or even proposed yet, and Toph was useless at giving advice to a groom, since she was a girl, and would have no knowledge on the matter.

_What if I screw up my vows, what if she doesn't show up._

As Hakoda finished talking with the elders, he walked over to his son, talked in a voice only the two of them could hear, although Alex could eavesdrop by his technologically enhanced hearing:

"Sokka, are you ready for this?"

"I don't know dad. I'm just so nervous, I'm like a tower of nerves waiting to collapse."

Hakoda laughed at his son's predicament, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder: "I was just like you at my wedding day, I kept worrying about making a mistake and ruining the wedding. But when I saw Kya walk down the aisle, I knew that I could do it, because the joy of being her husband was worth any stress I had that day."

Sokka loosened up a bit at this, and Hakoda gave him a pat on the shoulder before walking to collect the vow scrolls, as he was to act as director of the wedding as the chief.

"When you see Suki walk down the aisle, looking more beautiful than you've ever seen her, you know it'll be worth it."

"Thanks dad."

"Good luck son."

Hakoda walked off, and Sokka felt more confident now, anticipating his bride's, his love's arrival.

Down in the seats, Alex fought back an old depression, of how H'nuptec would never be able to give him assurance should this day come for him, because his rage, jealousy and malice had gained control of his actions.

In the bride's rooms, Suki was finally ready to be escorted down the aisle. Katara had helped in the preparation of her wedding dress and hair. In accordance with her Earth Kingdom origins, Suki wore a dress parka, light green on colour, with a polar skin fur lining inside it. Around her neck she still wore Sokka's betrothal necklace, and her hair had been adorned with blue and green beads, otherwise remaining the same, medium length brown hair it was.

Suki's parents had journeyed from Kyoshi island, in order to see their daughter marry the man she had fallen so in love with. As Suki was hugged by her mother for good luck, Katara found herself beginning to feel the sorrow of losing her mother to the war. Even though she had found the man who took her from her, she had been unable to bring herself to kill her. Ever since then, she had been asking herself whether she was too weak to avenge her mother, or too strong to sink to Yon Rah's level.

As Suki finished checking herself, she noticed Katara's pained expression:

"What's wrong?" Katara wiped her eyes as tears threatened to surface: "Oh, nothing. I'm just so happy for you now Suki. Your about to marry my brother, and all of your friends and family are here to see it. It must be wonderful."

Suki slowly approached Katara, and saw what was troubling her: "You're sad that your mom's not here?" Katara dropped the act, and replied: "She would have loved it, seeing Sokka marry someone as kind, caring and strong as you. And seeing your mother here for your wedding just reminds me that my mother isn't here to see Sokka's or my own."

Suki embraced Katara, and comforted her friend, and soon to be sister in law: "I don't want you feeling jealous of me Katara. I just want to make Sokka happy, as he does to me. You're strong caring, and I know your mother would be proud of you for all you did in ending the war."

Katara pulled away from Suki, and said while perking up: "C;mon, this is your special day, don't let weepy me ruin it." The two girls laughed at this, before Suki's father poked his head through the curtain to say it was time to start.

Katara took off to her seat, wishing Suki good luck as she left.

As Alex waited for the ceremony to start, he saw Katara hurry to join Aang beside him in her seat. As soon as she was seated, the band started playing traditional water tribe marriage music, composed with flutes, harps and tsungi horns, played by local or hired musicians.

The music created a sense of majesty and serenity in the room, and as all the heads turned to the rear to see the bride walk down the aisle, Sokka's fears about the wedding evaporated at the sight of Suki in her wedding gown.

In the light green parka, and simple beading in her wooden coloured hair, Suki looked absolutely stunning. Even though it was a moderately simple outfit, it complemented her physique perfectly, clinging to her body in just the right way to show here beauty to the maximum. As she walked with her father, Suki smiled in sheer joy, almost unbelieving that this day had come for her.

As Suki stopped in front of the stage, her father gave her and affectionate squeeze on the hand, and then declared to Hakoda and Sokka: "Sokka of the southern water tribe, and Chief Hakoda. I come before you to bless the union of our two children, and to relinquish my responsibility for my daughter over to her betrothed." He then let go of Suki's hand, and stepped away from the stage to rejoin Suki's mother at the front of the audience seating.

Up on stage, Hakoda cleared his throat before beginning to recite the Southern Water Tribe ritual scrolls. During all of this, Sokka and Suki stared lovingly into each other's eyes, a serene, graceful smile on each other's lips. This was the moment when they would truly become one, to live together forever and support one another.

In the audience, Suki's parents were crying in happiness for their daughter. Aang and Katara looked on happily at their friends and family, their hands intertwined as if reminding them that they would be up there eventually. Zuko and Mai looked on at the soon to be spouses, reminiscing back to their own wedding day. Toph was smiling at her friends' happiness, their heartbeats making it obvious how much they cared for one another. Up front, she detected the familiar non-beating signal, and she could only assume that he was being moved by this also. After all who wouldn't be?

Indeed, Alex was moved by the ceremony, and he was happy to be here for both them and himself. He knew that Sokka and Suki would be happy together, and also that his being invited meant he had fully cemented his relationship with the Gaang. He had finally found a place where he felt he belonged somewhat.

After 10 minutes of recital, Hakoda addressed Sokka, snapping both of them out of their dreamlike states: "Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, do you take Suki here to be your lawfully wedded wife, to care for her and help raise her children, and support her in times good and bad?"

"I do." Suki began to tear up at these words, and pulled herself together for her final vow: "Suki of Kyoshi Island, do you take Sokka here to be your lawfull wedded husband, to care for him and help raise his children, and support him in good tims and bad?"

"I do,"

Hakoda closed the scrolls, knowing only one thing was left to say: "I now declare you husband and wife on behalf of the entire southern water tribe. You may now kiss-"

Suki then grabbed Sokka's parka and yanked him towards her, his lips meeting hers in a passionate kiss as the audience erupted in applause.

The reception was something to behold.

In the case of the newlyweds, Sokka was for once not inclined to stuff himself at the buffet, as he figured simply being with Suki would fulfil him more than any food could. Now, the couple danced slowly on the floor, their graceful movements the centre of attention in the party.

At the buffet, Aang and Katara helped themselves to the food, before sitting down to watch Sokka and Suki dance [Aang avoided the stewed sea prunes like the plague]. As they left, Alex came over, curious to try some of the food. He eyed the stewed sea prunes, and figured if he could stomach ration packs during UIP and KI operations, he could certainly eat fresh stewed sea prunes.

10 seconds later, Alex walked away from the buffet, having tucked an inconspicuous lump of spat out sea prunes on the floor and under the table cloth.

Alex looked at the dancing couples, with Sokka and Suki talking with family and friends over at another table. He decided that he needed to tell them of his knowledge of the fire rebel's HQ location, although he would of course change the story of how he got the information. But for now, he may as well let them enjoy the party, and he elected to not ask Sokka or Suki to accompany him, as they deserved an uninterrupted honeymoon.

Since the hostage crisis five weeks ago in the Fire capital, they had all been involved in fighting off 4 rebel uprisings of a large scale, and there were numerous small uprisings across the Fire and Earth nations. Alex knew that by striking and destroying their HQ, he would shatter their morale and leadership, causing them to crumble. With this raid Alex was planning, the rebel uprisings would certainly stop within a few weeks.

**13****th**** February 2900.**

**Southern Water Tribe**

Sokka and Suki had decided to go to Kyoshi island for their honeymoon, and had left the morning after their wedding day, accompanying Suki's parents back home.

It was after the newlyweds left that Alex asked the rest of the Gaang to gather with him.

Inside a small ice hut, Hakoda had helped Alex gather who he needed. Aang, Katara, Toph, Zuko, and Mai were now sat in the hut with the enigmatic brown haired youth and Hakoda.

Alex then started: "I want to disclose some highly important strategic information I've been gathering these past few weeks, concerning the fire rebels."

Aang asked: "What?"

"I know where their headquarters is."

All of their eyes widened at this, and Zuko was the first to ask: "How?"

Alex began his tale. He told them that while he had gone off on his own, he had helped interrogate captured fire rebels, including the two he captured during the palace ambush. He had also had a hand in tracking messenger hawks, intercepting them and searching for rebel messages. He said he released them and tracked their movements on a map. He had unfolded a world map, showing traced paths of hawks which he had actually copied by hand from the digital maps of his island base's satellite and recon network. He explained how where the lines all met showed the centre of rebel information, their HQ.

Hakoda was obviously impressed with Alex's devotion to this case, and said to him: "So where is this place exactly?"

Alex unfolded a map of the southern Fire Nation, and pointed to an island near the southern tip: "It's on this island, and there is only one known structure thereabouts roughly, a prison facility used for prisoners of war by the fire nation during the war. It should be abandoned now, but I have my doubts the rebels would let such a place go to waste as a hideout."

Katara asked Alex: "So what are you saying, that we should attack this place?"

"Exactly. Breaking their central power location, and any leadership based there, will weaken the rebels and cause them to dissolve. Many of them were warped by propaganda, as I've heard, and if we remove the leadership, we remove the rebel threat altogether."

Hakoda asked: "But why are you only telling us? Surely some generals in the Earth Kingdom may want to hear this?"

Alex pointed at the island: "I thought that considering the history of this facility, you may wish to take part in a raid on it as payback for what happened to your tribe."

Mai asked: "Why? What was this place?"

"A prison facility built for southern water tribe prisoners. Namely waterbenders."

Katara then exclaimed out loud: "That must have been where Hama was kept before she escaped!"

By now, everyone had heard of Hama, the crazed old waterbender form the southern tribe, taken in some of the first raids on the tribe at the start of the war. She escaped and taught Katara the tool she used to escape, and to also torture local fire nation civilians as revenge, blood bending.

Deep down, Alex sympathized with Katara, as he had used an ability like blood bending once before, although he had only done it on Quirinth's comatose body, and his own old body and H'nuptec's body. He had done it by filling the thicker blood vessels with dark matter and animating it in the case of dead bodies, or simply pulling on the body like puppet strings in Quirinth's case.

However, the determination on the faces of those present showed Alex one thing. He would have plenty of backup in this raid.

**15****th ****February 2900**

**Southern Fire nation, former waterbender prison facility.**

Up from the mountain top, the facility looked almost abandoned. However, there were guards posted on duty, walking along the grounds with determined defensive purposes.

The plan had been discussed, and Hakoda had assisted in gathering a sizable force in taking out the base. Currently the attack force consisted of Hakoda, Katara, Aang, Toph, Zuko, Mai, Alex and just under 150 earth kingdom soldiers, loyal fire soldiers and south water tribe warriors.

Around a campfire, Alex discussed the overview of the plan:

"The base could be a trove of information, so we need to preserve it at all costs. A full on assault is too dangerous, since any information may be destroyed for secrecy purposes. Also, if they have prisoners, they may kill them as defiance."

Hakoda then finished: "So we need to infiltrate the place and weaken defences before we move in."

Alex then spoke: "Correct. But, they will suspect any incoming soldiers, and all of you-" He looked at Hakoda, Mai, Zuko, Katara, Aang and Toph: "-will probably be recognized by one of the leaders somehow. I however, am a relative unknown, so I can infiltrate the base more safely if I am seen. However, intend not to be seen at all, to hide in plain sight. Like this."

As he finished, Alex activated the dark matter coating on his clothes and skin. He then completely vanished from view. Hakoda, being the only one inexperienced with Alex's 'dark bending', recoiled in shock, and said in a surprised voice: "I guess your perfect for getting in then. I heard you could do things like this, but no I believe it."

"Yes, I'll get in, and out, undetected." As Alex rematerialized, Zuko spoke up: "So you'll either come to us, or give a signal for us to move in on the base?"

"I'll make a large fire, not to harm anyone of course, or an explosion. If that happens, move in as fast as you can. And ensure no one escapes."

Later that night, as the troops settled down for a brief rest for the coming fight, and the fires were put out, Alex bid his friends farewell, and set off for the prison facility. The mile long walk was quiet, and in the darkness Alex's helmet night vision was invaluable. He walked through the main gate, the duty guards completely unaware he passed them.

The courtyard was abandoned, and as Alex entered the main building, the first thing he looked for was the records offices. According to satellite scans, it was on the ground level, useful for quick escapes, no stairs or anything.

As Alex rounded a corridor corner, he saw a pair of guards approaching. He ducked into a corner to not be bumped into, and listened to their conversation as they passed:

"Yeah, they got me watching the prisoners on duty. It's so boring, a bunch of traitors and old, crippled waterbenders from the war, no fun at all."

At the last piece of information, Alex's eyes snapped open beneath his concealed helmet. There were still waterbenders here, imprisoned since the war for god knows how long. This didn't change the mission though, it merely increased the priority of any prisoner rescue. Now it really was a personal matter for the southern water tribe.

Finally, Alex reached the record offices, and he saw that no one was inside at the time. He walked in silently, and saw a filing cabinet.

Although he had not been able to read initially, Alex had made great progress in reading in the seven weeks since he met the Gaang. He had learnt enough to be able to read basic things, which would be able to help him understand the documents. Although, he decided to use a built in language translator in his helmet display, which had been updated to include the language of this world. It would show a projected image of English text of the writing, allowing for quick translation.

As Alex sifted through the documents, he made sure to return them to their original locations whenever he finished. He memorized, and also scanned additionally, documents containing rebel movement records and plans, and had now moved on to facility prisoner lists,

Alex looked at the documents, seeing that there were a 2 dozen or so prisoners taken by the rebels, most of whom were VIP or high ranking, including commanders, bankers, noblemen and women, and even a fire sage. In addition, records showed that there were 7 southern water tribe prisoners, all of whom were waterbenders, who had been here for upwards of 60 years, the shortest stay prisoner having stayed for 11 years. It was obvious that the waterbenders were the priority prisoners, as they would likely be more vulnerable in the mental and physical state such imprisonment had put them in.

Having finished his search, Alex walked out the door, ready to begin his 'cleansing' of the facility, which needed him to signal the force to begin attacking first. He quickly found the courtyard again, and tried to find a suitable place to cause an explosion. Unfortunately, there wasn't one.

Alex mentally groaned, knowing that he would have to haul a lot of barrels now.

As it happened, the blasting jelly barrels were heavier than Alex thought. The supply shed was open, and Alex had made many, many trips between there and a spot beneath a watch tower. He had been piling explosives at the tower base, disguising them under a layer of dark matter, while also carrying explosives under dark matter to add to the pile.

By the time he was done, he had near robbed the base of a quarter of its blasting jelly and gunpowder, and piled it at the tower base. Now, all he needed was a spark or a lighter. Luckily, he thought ahead for this, as he had requested two of a certain item from the island base to be secretly delivered. He ordered two in case one failed, but at the rate things were going, he wouldn't need the spare.

As Alex ran to the main facility wall, he looked at the watch tower base, and while still under cloaking, he pulled out an incendiary grenade, one concealed in each of his torso in built dark matter compartments,

As he prepared to throw, he looked at the tower base 75 metres away, mentally commanding the dark matter to return and de-coat the explosive pile. As soon as it was visible, Alex threw the grenade with all his might, his mechanical limbs allowing him to throw the grenade a naturally impossible distance, and watched satisfied as it sailed right on target. In his success, he almost forgot to retreat into the facility hallway for cover. As he ducked into the hall, and heard the shouts of a guard at noticing the sudden explosive pile's appearance, he thought excitedly:

_This is gonna be one big boom._

Up on the mountain, Aang stood around the campfire with Katara, trying to pass the time as they waited for a signal of some sort from Alex. Mai and Toph were sat against a rock each, having near fallen asleep with boredom. They were constantly looking over at Hakoda and Zuko, who were perched at the ridge top, overlooking the prison, waiting to pass on the message to attack. As it happened, the passed on command may not have been necessary.

**BOOOOM!**

An earth shattering explosion sounded over the ridge, and in surprise Aang, Katara, Mai and Toph joined Hakoda and Zuko on the ridge. As they met, they saw a massive cloud of smoke where one of the prison watchtowers once stood, and the tower lay shattered all over the courtyard.

Realizing this was the signal, Hakoda commanded for the attack to start.

Down in the prison, guards rushed about in panic, trying to figure out what had just happened. Within a hallway, just near the main entrance, a cloaked, masked man contemplated whether he used perhaps a bit too much explosive.

Shaking it off, Alex peeked around, and saw in his telescopic helmet display that the main attack force was en route down the mountain side, and by now had diverted the guards' attention. Alex stifled a laugh, and set off towards the prisoner bay, realizing that he had certainly used enough explosive after all. After all, thought Alex, when you use too much it can be called overkill, but when you're limited, and need it, one thinks differently.

Nevertheless, with the guards now occupied, he could now infiltrate the prisoner bay, and begin rescuing the prisoners, and killing any guards there at the time to stop him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 11: Salvaged Truths.**

**15****th**** February 2900**

**Southern Fire nation, former waterbender prison facility/Fire rebel HQ.**

Inside the courtyard, fire rebel soldiers fought fiercely against the force of earth kingdom soldiers, fire nation soldiers and water tribe warriors. Against them they were able to hold their ground.

Against the Avatar and master benders though, they were losing.

With a fierce swipe, Aang blew 4 fire rebels away with his airbending, not looking back to see them hit a group of other rebels in mid-air. Elsewhere, Toph was creating defensive walls for the attackers to shelter and attack from safely. The rebels were not just firebenders, but also archers and swordsmen and women. As such, Zuko and Katara were side by side now, using one of Toph's rock walls as cover while they lay down a long range assault with fire and water bending.

Hakoda had taken the fight to the enemy, and was engaging in close combat with a group of rebels with the help of Mai, who's knife throwing skills were invaluable in repelling any overwhelming numbers of enemies. As Mai pinned one more rebel, and killed another by a head throw, Hakoda briefly wondered: _Where does she hide all of those? _Tossing his curiosity aside, Chief Hakoda blocked another rebel swordsman, and hit him hard in the side with a quick swipe from his spear's shaft. Not caring to give him a chance to surrender, Hakoda raised his spear over the fallen rebel, and stabbed down.

With the last close by rebel dead, Hakoda yelled to his troops: "We need to take the main fortress, and those sentries are keeping us pinned down. Benders, take them out!"

At this, Aang and Zuko each launched a fire blast at two sentries each, incinerating their positions and setting fire to part of the upper level. Toph, having run underneath the second floor balcony, then punched into the fortress's metal walls. With a cracking and creaking noise, the sentry balcony twisted and collapsed above her, sending the sentries either falling to the ground or fleeing inside. Before she was crushed, Toph earthbended herself underground, and resurfaced after the balcony had landed. As she resurfaced, she restrained the rebels on the floor who were lucky enough to survive the fall.

With the sentry balcony gone, the group moved towards the fortress, and once inside the hallways, they split up to take each room.

Down in the basement level, Alex could only hear very faint echoes of the fight going on above.

Under invisibility, he progressed through the labyrinth of tunnels and corridors, having to frequently use his in helmet map to find his way around. In the dimly lit tunnels, he could still see that many of the prison cell halls had been converted for supply storage. Explosives, food and water, weapons, vehicle parts, anything the rebels would need for their operations if supplies grew short.

All of a sudden, Alex saw movement up ahead, two guards hurrying to the surface to stop the attackers. Knowing he needed information, he decided to act. Alex thrust out both arms, causing the rebels to run into them full force. Their painful cries echoed in the corridor, and before either could react, Alex formed a dark blade from his hand, grabbed the younger of the two rebels, and slit his throat.

The elder rebel gazed in horror as his younger comrade killed, a dark, masked figure having suddenly materialized over him and slit his throat. The, the masked figure turned to the elder rebel.

With a cry of surprise, the elder rebel saw a cloud of dark smoke surround his own neck and mouth, and he gagged slightly as it began to mildly choke him, constricting his airway. From the masked figure, a horrible voice asked slowly: "Where are the waterbenders and war prisoners being held? Lie to me, and you'll join your friend." As he finished, he used the dark smoke to point the rebel's head at the young rebel's corpse, a pool of blood slowly forming beneath the body. With the smoke clearing to allow him to talk, the rebel choked out: "F-Four doors down, on the left. The-they're all in the same place."

Then, the elder man's body shuddered and became still, as the dark smoke hit his head hard, knocking him out. Alex dropped the unconscious body, keen to leave no survivors except voluntary surrenders, as this man had done by helping him. As he left, he re-cloaked himself, and muttered to the elder rebel a sincere: "Thank you"

Four doors down, and to the left. Before Alex could open the door, he heard footsteps coming from the left again. Annoyed that he had yet another one to kill, he turned, invisible, to face the guard. Except, when he looked, he saw the face of the one man who escaped the Fire palace, the one that the guards failed to apprehend. This was the Commander.

Wanting to settle this more personally, Alex flattened himself against the corridor wall, letting the Commander walk past without touching him. As he passed, Alex reached into his pocket, and pulled out a tiny tracking device. As the Commander walked by, Alex brushed the man's sleeve with his fingers, letting the tracker stick to the underside of his arm. In case he escaped again somehow, this would prove useful.

As the Commander walked along, he dismissed a slight brush he felt on his sleeve as merely an illusion of his senses. He continued, ignoring the prisoner door to his right, realizing he may have to kill them before escaping to send a message. But for now, he was needed on the upper floors, to rescue precious documents concerning rebel plans.

As he passed the next door, he heard two footsteps behind him.

The Commander whirled around, and saw beside the prisoner door a dark figure, obscured by the dim lighting of the corridor. He wore a blank, black mask, with a dark grey jawbone structure beneath it. On his body, a black and red trimmed full body suit, made of a long sleeved tunic and trousers, and a jacket, all of which looked like it could hide armour. The feet were covered by featureless, black boots. All in all, the figure blended perfectly amongst the darkness.

At first, the commander thought he was seeing things. Then, the figure spoke, in a voice that seemed to come from a nightmare, speaking to him in a malicious whisper:

"You escaped my grasp once, you will not again."

The Commander spoke in an aggressive, quizzical tone: "Do I know you?"

"No, but your accomplices in the hostage situation at the Fire Palace did. In fact, I got to know them very well indeed."

"How did they know you?"

"I was the one who slaughtered them."

The Commander stared at the figure, shocked that he had come all this way to simply get him. The commander got into a firebending stance, and challenged: "Why you, I knew those men as friends, and I will ensure you now die."

The figure remained motionless, and the whisper returned again: "How noble, but like you, I too am devoted to my cause. For your escape that day, I saved some 'special' surprises specifically for you."

With a bellow, the Commander launched a fireball down the corridor, the figure having no chance to dodge it. As the fireball engulfed the figure, the corridor lit up brightly, and then dimmed again. As the smoke cleared, the figure was nowhere to be seen. Only a black cloud of smoke appeared. However, the smoke began to swirl and condense into a person, and from the darkness the figure emerged again.

In fury, the Commander sent a continuous barrage of fire down the corridor, illuminating it brilliantly in orange light. As each blast flew, it seemed to engulf the hallway where the figure stood, and the black smoke swirled around where the flames eagerly sought to burn flesh and bone. And yet, they found none.

The commander stepped backwards in fear, as he realized he could not harm this, this thing. This thing was not normal, it was like a spirit, nothing could not harm it. As he stood shaking in slight fear, the whole corridor darkened, and the figure advanced on him, gliding down the hall like a hellish demon coming to drag him away. The commander ran, and as he saw the hall light dim around him, the darkness gradually began to catch up to him. Suddenly, beneath him, a dark tendril seized his ankle, and tripped him up.

As the commander hit the floor, he twisted around and fired a massive fire blast at the demon. The flames engulfed the figure, harmlessly dissipating around it. With his life flashing before his eyes, the Commander began to freeze in fear as the figure leant down towards him, and whispered at a barely discernable level: "Run, or die."

With a traumatized yell, the commander ran as fast as he could down the hallway, eager to get away from this haunted corridor. He prayed that the spirit would take the prisoners, and not him. He saw the staircase, and began to run up it fast, not caring how loud he was being.

As he got to the top of the stairs, he rounded the corner to head for the exit. Seeing light, he silently thanked the good spirits, and practically leapt into the open sun. With a cry of panic, he hit the ground, scrambling away from the building like a frightened rat. He backed up, until he felt shadows looming over him. The commander whirled around, and saw Firelord Zuko, Fire Lady Mai and Master Katara looming over him. Off to the side, Aang recognized the commander, and ran over to confront him. As the avatar joined, the Commander surrendered, cowering beneath his recent captors, thankful that he was free from the evil spirit.

Aang spoke to him: "You're here, you're their leader?"

The Commander shakily nodded, and said in a stuttering voice: "Led rebels, prisoners in basement. Terrible curse, the mask, the horrible demon, he-he killed my men at the Palace, he can't be stopped, he's too powerful, too evil." As the Commander collapsed into the foetal position, the four of them looked over at the fortress, wondering what Alex was up to.

Beneath the ground, Alex had just recovered from laughing his arse off. He had completely traumatized that man, so much more satisfying than killing him. _Of course_, he thought_, if the need arises, I'm sure I could easily administer execution._

With no guards on sensors, Alex walked over to the prison hall door, a more relaxed stride in his walk now that the fight was actually over.

He reached the prison door, and saw that the door was locked. Alex scolded himself:

_Damn, I should've ordered the leader to give me the keys._

Regardless, Alex formed a small block of dark matter on his finger, and he thrust it into the keyhole. Then, using his onboard scanners, he began to morph and shape the dark matter in the keyhole to pick the lock. After 20 seconds, the lock clicked, and the door was now ready to open. As he pulled out the dark matter, Alex scanned the prison, detecting only people trapped inside prison cells.

With a cautious breath, ready for any ghastly sight, Alex re-cloaked himself, and pushed the door open slowly.

Alex stepped into the room silently, allowing the door to swing shut behind him almost silently. Inside the prison hall, windows provided small rays of light to illuminate the dark, dusty hall. Ahead, a catwalk of sorts extended down the hall, with raised prison cages lining the sides of the path. In the cages, the bodies of people rested almost motionlessly, only the scanners on Alex's helmet fully confirming their living status.

Looking on at the cages, Alex saw that the rebels had arranged the waterbenders in the cages on the left side, while the war prisoners occupied cells on the right. Seeing the age and life signs of some of the occupants, it was obvious that some would be better off not being moved, and help being brought to them before moving them. The rest however could be brought up for treatment.

As he reminded himself to get Katara and any medically trained force members to come down here, Alex picked out the prisoners he could move now, preferably all in one go under their own legs. Unfortunately, out of the 7 waterbenders, only the shortest stay occupant of 11 years was showing suitable signs for walking up to the courtyard, the rest were too old or weak. The war prisoners were better faring, as out of 2 dozen, about 1 and a half dozen could be moved now.

Tentatively, Alex approached a nearby cage, holding a group of 4 war prisoners, a young woman, a fire sage and 2 fire nation captains. He then crouched down, and dropped the cloaking field before standing up for them to see, so it would look like he had been there just now. As he appeared, the prisoners faces looked up in shock, and they recoiled slightly as they looked at Alex. Then, Alex realized his helmet was still on. Carefully, he removed it slowly, so as not to startle them. As he took it off, the other prisoners began to either look or listen in, especially when he started to talk to the four:

"I don't have much time, can you walk?"

The Fire sage was the one who responded, a pleading tone in his voice: "Yes, are you here to free us?"

Alex then lashed out, shattering the lock on the cage doors with his fist, aided by a cloaked dark matter armour coating. He then smirked at the old sage: "That I believe answers that question." He then addressed the whole hall: "Any prisoners who can walk well enough are coming with me to the surface. The rest I shall bring back medical help to heal you here. If I try to move you, I may end up harming you more than helping, so sit tight."

After the first cage, Alex went to each cage, 16 in total, and shattered each and every lock with a well placed punch. As each cage opened, the prisoners who could walk crawled or leapt out of their cages, whooping and crying for joy at their saviour. True to his predictions though, 6 of the 7 waterbenders could not stand up for themselves, their leg muscles wasted away. However, the last one, a middle aged woman, appeared fine for walking, slow and staggered as her pace was.

Suddenly, the woman stumbled, and appeared to be falling. In slight panic, Alex closed the small gap between them, and caught her mid fall. She caught her breath as she was saved from the fall, and thanked her helper:

"Thank you. For that and freeing us. I don not know how I can ever repay you."

Alex helped her up, and said: "All I ask in return is for you to be more careful, and perhaps a name also?"

The woman smiled, her shrunken face and ribcage ruining her otherwise pleasant appearance. Her long, brown hair was matted, tangled and loose, and the brown prison tunic and pants she wore clung to the angular shape of her thin, bony body. The ocean blue eyes though, remained unchanged from the imprisonment. She then said her name.

At hearing the name, Alex froze, having only heard it in passing, and yet, she should not be here. He thought confusedly: _She shouldn't be in a waterbender prison, she should be pushing up the daisies somewhere! This changes everything!_

Alex then pushed these thought temporarily aside, and ordered again: "I'll bring help back for the weaker prisoners! The rest of you, follow me, stick together!" With this, he opened the door, and guided the rest in the direction of the exit slowly. At the front, Alex had asked the waterbender to walk with him, to clear some matters over.

"My first question, are you a waterbender? And I can tell if you lie, so don't bother."

The woman shook her head, and said: "No, I'm not a waterbender." Alex nodded, and then said: "Well then, I can still say that I have some people up top who will be very interested in hearing what happened in your eleven year imprisonment, so be prepared to meet-watch your step."

Alex avoided the puddle of blood on the floor, having leaked form the younger guard's corpse completely, while the elder guard had yet to regain consciousness. The woman and the rest of the prisoners looked down at the body and corpse, then at Alex. At this, Alex shrugged his shoulders, and said: "Had to kill the young guy, the old guy told me where to find you, so I let him live, which reminds me."

Alex bent down and picked up the old guard, and as he led the still grateful prisoners towards the stairs, he said with a hint of humour in his voice: "I'll do him a favour in making sure he doesn't wake up next to a dead body, wouldn't that be a shock, huh?"

At the silence, Alex retorted to them as he began to lead them up the stairs: "Oh come on! Just because its dark humour doesn't mean it's not humour."

The woman laughed slightly at this, reminiscing how one of her children, before she was taken, would often attempt jokes, with mixed success. Then, as they rounded up to the top of the steps, the prisoners saw light ahead, coming from an open doorway in the corridor ahead.

The end of their sorrow was near.

But one last obstacle stood in their way.

Above the prison facility, a group of elite rebel members planned out their next move. They had held back, watching the disastrous battle from the roof. They ahd seen the invaders storm the prison, and had also seen their Commander retreat, almost hysterical about something in the basement. By the sound of it, they had penetrated the lower level.

The guards nodded, and moved in to ambush the prisoners when they came out.

"This way, hurry!"

Alex ordered the prisoners along, eager to taste freedom again for their sake. Indeed, as the prisoners burst into the sunlight again, they began to sprint even faster, the sun's welcoming rays like steroids to them. Beside him, the woman sprinted equally fast, and then she noticed a group in front of them.

Among them, a young, scarred fire nation man, and a fire nation woman with long dark hair, looked over at them, and then called over to their accomplices. With eagerness, a bald man in monk clothing ran over, followed by a water tribe woman. Before the woman could get a look at her, Katara noticed something behind them, and yelled: "Alex, BEHIND YOU!"

Instinctively, Alex spun around, and saw a group of guards land skilfully on the ground now between them and the facility. As they landed, they began firebending at the prisoners, eager to kill. With screams of terror, the prisoners ducked to the floor, cowering in fear at their would be killers. One of them stood over the Fire sage, and she fired a blast into the old man's face, yelling; "Traitor!"

Before he could react, he saw a guard aim an arrow at the non-waterbender woman, now on his right, and let it fly. Alex dropped the unconscious guard on his shoulder, and shoved the woman out of the way, letting her fall to the floor, as the arrow pierced his upper arm, imbedding itself in the skin.

On Alex's helmet, readings showed a hit on his synthetic skin, but his mechanical structure was unharmed. Even so, the artificial sensors simulated the pain to half the extent, which was enough for Alex. With a cry of pain, he fell backwards, the arrow stuck in his right arm. Beside him, the woman screamed in shock, scrambling over to help him, but he beat her back, yelling in a pained voice: "Get to them, get to safety, NOW!" As he yelled, he jerked his head towards the Gaang, who were now engaging the remnants of the guards and these new, elite rebels. The woman nodded, and sprinted off to the group, her matted brown hair flying as she ran.

As Alex struggled up, the same archer aimed another arrow at the woman, but he would never hit her. As he let it fly, Alex formed a dark shield between her and the archer, upon which the arrow bounced off, broken from the impact. Before the archer could comprehend what happened, Alex was on his feet, and he extended his hand out, forming a long, dark tendril, which coiled around the man's neck, and quickly snapped it by constricting. Before the man keeled over, Alex retracted the tendril, and ran over to a nearby elite rebel, who had been running up to two other prisoners, a young woman and an earth army captain. Roughly, with no dark matter, Alex seized the man, his taller stature allowing him to pull the man off his feet. Pulling out one of his swords, Alex slit the man's throat, not bothering to look back at the prisoners or the corpse as he moved on, determined to find that fire rebel who killed the fire sage prisoner. All the while, the arrow caused him indescribably pain in his right arm.

He found her, in combat with Mai and Hakoda, who proved to be an equal match against her together. Nevertheless, Alex had sworn to protect the prisoners, and she had caused him to fail. He drew his last sword, and aimed it like a spear. He threw it hard and fast, and with a sadistic smile he saw it plunge right through the woman's torso. Hakoda and Mai stared shocked at this intervention, as Alex walked over to the gurgling rebel, blood dribbling from her mouth, while he bit back the pain from his obvious arrow wound. He roughly withdrew his sword, left his helmet retracted, and muttered as the corpse fell down: "Consider that payback for the fire sage you killed."

Suddenly, a fire blast came from the side of him from afar. Whirling around, Alex saw that it was a random shot, and it was headed right for him. He had no time to react, and with a terrified expression, Alex prepared for a possible fiery end.

The flames hit his lower jaw and chin, and Alex fell to the floor, screaming in agony as the flames devoured one of the areas of his body that was still organic. He rolled on the floor to extinguish the flames, but by the time they were out, he began to lose consciousness from the pain, the unbearable pain in his lower right face. As he slipped out of consciousness, his dark matter clothing coating switched off and retracted, returning his black and red clothes to his original green, brown and yellow colour, leaving only the helmet, now open for all to see his face wound.

His last sight before losing consciousness was Hakoda and Mai screaming for help, and figures rushing towards him from distance.

The woman rushed over to the group nearby, as she had been bellowed to by the dark man, who had taken an arrow for her. As she ran, she looked back and saw him raise a black wall between her and the archer, and then grab the archer from afar with a dark arm-like extension. The archer's neck snapped, and the dark man struggled onto his feet.

As she looked around, she saw she was nearing the designated group now. Running up to the Waterbender girl, she yelled: "You have to help him! He's hurt badly!"

At this, the scarred male firebender looked over at the man, and said: "He looks fine to me." The woman, waterbender and the scarred man looked back, and saw the dark man slit the throat of another rebel, the arrow causing apparently little problem. Then, they saw him aim his sword, and throw it like a spear, over at a skilled female rebel, engaging a dark haired, fire nation woman, and-

_HAKODA?_

As the woman looked in shock at the southern water tribe chief, she only barely noticed a random fire shot head towards him. The dark man had whirled around to engage, but he took a face full of flames instead. As the man fell, he began to roll on the floor in a frenzy, screaming in agony as his face burnt. As this happened, the waterbender and nearby monk yelled out in shock simultaneously: "ALEX!"

Suddenly, the dark man's clothes changed colour, going from black and red to yellow, brown and green, earth kingdom colours. Then Hakoda yelled over to them:

"We need a healer NOW!"

The waterbender, monk and scarred man rushed over, with the woman following closely, wanting to help and to see if it really was Hakoda. The waterbender then knelt over Alex's charred face, the latter having slipped into unconsciousness. She said: "Dad, I need more water to work with here!"

"Right. Bato, get some more waterskins here for Katara!"

Hakoda had yelled over to another water tribe warrior, who the woman recognized also from her time in the southern water tribe. Within seconds, Bato had returned with two more waterskins, which Hakoda handed to Katara. Beside them, the woman fell to her knees, tears now pouring from her eyes, as she not only gazed at this dark man's charred and frighteningly damaged body, but also realized she had reunited with her tribe. She then watched as Katara expertly covered Alex's face in water, and made it glow. After a few tense seconds, Katara looked up in relief, stopping the bending.

"He'll live. I healed the skin, but he'll have a scar from what was burnt off."

The woman then said to her: "The arrow." At this, Katara noticed the arrow, still imbedded in Alex's arm. Thankfully it was not that deep, as it had entered at an angle. The barbs had not fully stuck in, so a quick yank from Hakoda caused it to come free easily, leaving Katara to only heal the wound. She then spoke again: "Aang, Zuko, get me some bandages."

The monk, obviously Aang, nodded, and ran off, followed by the scarred man, Zuko. Seeing the danger was over, the woman tentatively asked Katara: "Katara, is that really you?"

Katara looked at the woman, and noticed something vaguely familiar about her somehow, that familiar, warm voice, and those blue eyes, so alike her own. Hakoda looked at the woman now, a look of confusion and shock on his face. He cautiously leaned towards her, and swept away the woman's brown, matted locks, to reveal a familiar, yet thinned face, sunken with age and impoverishment.

Hakoda began to tear up, as he recognized who he was looking at. He slowly shuffled around Alex's form, and cupped the woman's cheek. He asked in a croaking voice: "Kya?"

The woman broke down, and embraced him: "Hakoda!" The two held each other close, the warmth of each other's body a comfort to the other. Beside them, Katara began to realize who this was, and reached up to her necklace, touching it for a brief moment. She began to crawl around Alex's body, and laid a hand on Kya's shoulder, asking the woman: "Who's necklace is this?"

The woman drew back, and said with a warming, motherly smile: "I gave it to you, my daughter." Katara threw herself into the embrace, her sorrow of 11 years of separation from her mother finally fully spilling forth, and yet now that sorrow would no longer live.

Aang came back over to them, the bandages ready for applying to Alex's right arm, he saw two things as he returned. First, he saw an old wound no one had yet seen on Alex's body. A large imbedded scar on Alex's right shoulder, as if a large section had been sliced out of it by something. Before he could apply the bandages to the new arrow wound, he saw a sight that left him confused, yet touched.

He saw Katara in a loving embrace with her father, crumpled on the floor, tears on their faces, as they both embraced [here's what really confused Aang] the waterbender prisoner woman. He asked sensitively: "Katara? What's going on?"

His girlfriend looked up at Aang, tears of joy in her eyes, and said: "Alex found my mom."

Before Aang could react, Zuko ran up behind them, and said to Hakoda: "The other prisoners say there are still some others down in the cells. They're too weak to move, so we need to help them."

Hakoda fought back his tears, the rest of the situation reminded to him: "Yes. Organize supplies of food and water to be brought to them, go down with a team to help them."

Zuko nodded, and yelled over to some fire nation troops the command necessary to begin prisoner rescue. After this, he joined Aang in watching the family reunion, long overdue by 11 years, 3 years after the war. Zuko thought to himself that fate had smiled on Katara for all her hardships, by rewarding her with the safe return of a person she had missed so much in life. Then, Zuko looked at Alex, still out of it on the floor.

_If it wasn't for him, this rebellion would still be going strong, and this tor family will never be reunited._

Kya pulled away from Katara and Hakoda, and looked at her husband in incalculable relief: "Hakoda, you look not much different from that day." Kya then turned to Katara: "Katara, my sweet little girl, I dreamt of all of you in my time here."

Katara buried herself in her mother's embrace once more: "I missed you so much mom." As her daughter began to cry once more, Kya held her on the back, rubbing small circles in her back with her thin, frail hand.

Kya then looked around slightly worriedly: "Where is Sokka?"

Aang laughed slightly, and said: "He's on his honeymoon. We came here without him so as not to spoil his time with his new wife, we had no idea you were here."

Zuko then said: "Wait till he hears about this."

They looked down at Alex, and Zuko said: "That's two families he's helped reunite now. But now he has a scar like my own." Aang looked at him, and said: "Knowing Alex, he'll wear it proudly."

And they were right. He would wear it proudly, as it marked one step closer to his inner redemption. After so long causing pain and misery at command, even if it had been fro the greater good, Alex had finally begun to redeem his personal cause, and had now permanently earned the respect of not only the Southern Water tribe for returning not just the chief's proclaimed dead wife and many lost waterbenders, but also by critically wounding the fire rebellion effort and its leadership and HQ.

He was finally doing what he set out to do, protect, serve, and help for the good, no matter the method or cost.


	12. Chapter 12

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 12: Family and acceptance**

**16****th**** February 2900**

**Fire Capital.**

One day had passed since the Fire rebel HQ's downfall, one day since Alex was injured, one day since Kya was rescued.

Within a day, the rebel HQ had been left in ruins, with only a few casualties, including one fire sage. Alex and any other injured people had been transported by airship to the capital, or on Appa for more severe cases, such as Alex also.

He had been bandaged up well, in both right arm and the lower right face. Aang and Katara did a good job bandaging and healing Alex as best they could, but a horrid scar, and a loss of tissue, would remain. More sinister was how close they came to noticing how quickly Alex's skin healed on his arm, which they dismissed as Katara's healing. However, scarred or not, he had become a hero. He had single-handedly located and infiltrated the fire rebel HQ, and rescued the prisoners with only one prisoner loss.

And for one family, one prisoner's return was truly a miracle. For 11 years, Katara and Hakoda had believed their wife had been killed, despite never finding her body. Kya spared no time telling of how she came to be in that prison. Yon Rah had been intent on killing her, but another fire nation soldier had burst into the tent, looking for him. He happened to be of the same rank, and had reprimanded Yon Rah for what he appeared to be about to do, saying they were to take prisoners, not kill. And as such, Kya was wrapped in an opaque bag, and dragged into a Southern Raiders ship before they pulled out.

During when they were trapping her in her bag, Kya had struggled, and had drawn blood from one the newer soldier in the struggle. That blood is all that Hakoda and Katara had seen on the tent floor.

They had presumed her dead, certainly after she had been missing for weeks, and no one reported seeing the raiders take her.

But now, as Katara lay in her mother's thin, comforting arms, she found memories of her early childhood flooding back, before the raid. They all sat in a large sitting hall, the same one she had actually been in when the Commander had held them hostage, and Alex had saved them in his own, 'unique' manner.

She let her mother run her hands through her hair, a feeling she had long missed since she was 5. Then, she spoke to her: "I found the man I thought had killed you."

The stroking stopped, and Kya shifted herself to face her long missed daughter. Katara continued: "I went after him to try to avenge you, Zuko helped me find him."

"The one who you saw with me in the tent?" Kya asked. Katara nodded, and continued: "I confronted him, Yon Rah. He never said anything about not killing you, I guess he assumed I knew you had been kidnapped instead. I used my waterbending to try to kill him." At this, Katara looked away, tears coming to her eyes now. She finished: "But I couldn't do it. I hesitated at the last moment, and I left him. I saw that he was a coward, and I couldn't bring myself to his level. But when I left him, I was confused, I didn't know whether I'd proven myself as better than him, or that I'd failed to avenge you."

Kya engulfed her daughter as she broke down, shushing her gently as she let her daughter's tears spill forth: "Katara, even if I had died that day, I would have been proud of you whatever you did. Killing someone for vengeance would have stained that lovely personality of yours, but your determination you showed in seeking him out makes me proud to have you as my daughter."

The mother and daughter held each other, the feeling of euphoria of reuniting never once fading. Outside, Hakoda came down from a balcony, having finished sending a messenger hawk to deliver a letter to Sokka and Suki of the news of Kya's return and the rebel base strike. Inside, he found his once shattered family on a couch, Kya's thin body hugging Katara's shaking body. Soundlessly, the need for asking unnecessary, Hakoda encircled his daughter and return wife in a bear hug, incalculably overjoyed that his family, so shattered by war and despair, had been brought together again.

A few hours passed, and by then Aang, Toph, Zuko, Mai and even Ursa had been introduced to Kya. Kya had particularly been touched by Zuko and Aang, both of whom had saved Katara, although she seemed slightly taken aback that a sweet soul like Zuko could have once tried to harm Katara.

Katara had near dragged a shy Aang to meet Kya, who immediately saw that the young Avatar and her daughter were love struck with each other. The group was altogether, in each other's company.

Or at least, they would be in a few minutes.

**Fire palace, guest bedroom.**

_Beneath him, countless corpses littered the barren desert floor, their lifeblood and limbs scattered as far as the carnage spread. At his feet, four figures were present. Sru'sky was on her knees, spirit broken and eyes wide with horror and fear as she stared at her antagonist. Trion was at the point of collapsing, his energon leaking over the floor in bright blue drops. Quirinth lay on the floor, lightly wheezing as the multiple wounds on her body oozed blood. And finally, the fourth figure at his feet:_

_Himself._

_His old self, a shattered, broken boy, a boy abandoned on an alien world, ultimately ended for his beliefs and devotion to his cause by the very people he had befriended and called family. Here, Alex knelt before his successor._

_The Dark Hunter reached out a hand, and a dark tendril extended towards each person. It hovered momentarily in front of their chests, as if contemplating the next action._

_A dark, sadistic laugh pierced the air, and beneath his helmet, the red eyes glinted in feral lust, ready for the kill._

_The tendrils lunged, and all became black, with only the evil red eyes piercing the eternal darkness._

Alex's eyes snapped open, and he bolted upright in his bed. He immediately grasped his right face in pain, where bandages covered the lower portion of his face. As he ignored the pain, he looked around.

He was in a bedroom, fire nation in appearance. He wore no clothes, except his underclothing. His arm was bandaged also, covering the already healed arrow wound, but leaving his shoulder scar visible.

He saw a set of clothes nearby, his old clothes, now green, yellow and brown again. Painfully, he slipped them on, careful not to touch his face when he slipped on his tunic. After a few minutes he was dressed, and he walked towards the door, ignoring the stinging from the bandage on his face.

He opened the door, and immediately he heard voices from down the hall, voices he recognized. His mechanical limbs carried him swiftly, his hand constantly holding his bandaged face in pain. He ran down the hall, ignoring tapestries and portraits as he ran. Finally, he came to the sitting room door, and with an unceremonious bang, he kicked the door open.

Inside, Toph's eyes widened as she felt the rapid footsteps in the hall beyond. She then said to all present: "I think Alex is up." She then looked towards the doors. With a loud bang, they flew open like a cannon blast.

From inside, a disfigured man emerged, clad only in his trousers, tunic and jacket, which had been torn slightly from his injuries. His right arm held a bandaged wound, and on his right shoulder a vicious chunk of flesh seemed to have been sliced out in an upwards cut. His face was the worst, his lower right side covered in bandages, his hand grasping it in pain. Along his left face a long, deep cut scar ran from his chin to just short of his ear. His blood red eyes scanned the room in panic, before he relaxed his entire body.

He then slumped slightly, and said: "Sorry 'bout that. Just making sure you're all still alive, since I wasn't around for long to help-ow this actually really hurts." At this, he walked over to a nearby couch, which Toph and Ursa had just occupied, and he sat down in an unceremonious heap, clutching his face in pain, while propping his feet up on the table, not caring for manners.

Toph asked him then: "You OK? Those were some nasty wounds you got there." Alex shrugged his shoulders, and looked up at the ceiling, saying: "As long as I have my arms, legs and mind intact, I don't give a damn what happens to my body. Its what harm could befall others that I need to protect that I show concern about."

Toph smiled, realizing he probably gained all of these injuries from encounters where he protected others. Katara meanwhile had started to talk: "Are you sure you're fine? I mean, you just woke up." Alex merely said: "All I ask is if these-." He pointed at his arm and face. "-will leave scars." Katara looked down at the floor dejectedly, muttering: "Sadly, yes."

Alex then muttered: "Well that's good. More to add to my ever growing collection of scars I suppose." Hakoda then said: "You found my wife, you've restored my family, and you've helped us effectively end the Fire rebel cause. I don't know how I can repay you for what you've done."

"You can start by not feeling indebted to me. I don't want anyone throwing themselves at my feet in servitude, I find it incredibly irritating." He then thought to himself: "However, I do think perhaps a ceremony or celebration is in order for the Fire Rebellion end, perhaps scheduled for after Sokka and Suki's return? And also one I could have a hand in organizing events for?"

He looked at Zuko, who immediately nodded in agreement. He said: "The world needs all the celebration it can get, to get over any misery from the war and rebels."

It was decided then, the celebration would be held in the Fire Nation capital, in a week's time. Until then, everyone would remain here, awaiting Sokka and Suki's return in five days.

Although Alex would have to check in with his island base.

**20****th**** February 2900**

**Island base.**

The intercom system patched through, and Alex called into the island system mainframe the commands and updates he needed.

"**I request an update on RAXLER's development."**

"**RAXLER demonstrates expected results in physical and processor capabilities. All software downloads have proceeded as expected, and he is beginning to develop a personality of his own, with a few minor concerns."**

"**Request clarification on matters."**

"**RAXLER demonstrates capacity to express emotions and personality, but only does so in situations that bring out particularly strong emotional responsiveness. Otherwise, subject displays emotional inertness and simple, cold behaviour. This was to be expected, as artificial intelligence had not yet reached the full capacity to express emotions that living beings do constantly."**

"**Affirmative. Proceed with training, I shall observe and personally interact with RAXLER upon my next return."**

The channel went dead, as Alex transmitted a code to another part of the island base, the medical centre:

"**Request status report on subject A76."**

"**A76 at foetal stage, estimated time to maturity 2 months."**

"**Acknowledged, proceed as normal."**

The transmission cut, and Alex placed the radio away in his secret compartment, and he returned to his bedroom in the Fire Palace, to finish sleeping for the night.

**February 21****st****, 2900**

**Fire nation Capital**

Alex waited at the port with Toph, Katara and Aang. He watched impatiently as the water tribe ship moored at the docks, and he stifled grin as Sokka and Suki practically sprinted onto the docks as soon as the ship was moored.

Sokka hugged Katara, saying: "Hey little sis. How's things all going here?"

Katara pulled away, and said: "Oh, fine, just fine." Suki then nudged Sokka, noticing the looks that Toph, Aang and Katara were all trying to hide: "Are you keeping something secret?"

"It's a surprise." Toph said with a smirk, as they began to walk up to the palace, with Sokka constantly pleading with them the entire way: "Please tell me! C'mon, tell me!"

After 30 minutes they reached the volcano crater, and had just made it to the palace gates. By this time, Sokka's pestering was beginning to get annoying.

Sokka: "Please?"

Toph: "No."

Sokka: "Please?"

Katara: "No."

Sokka: "Please?"

"Sorry Sokka." Said Aang, a look of boredom on his face. Sokka turned to Alex:

"Please?"

"Yes." Said Alex in a bored tone. Sokka perked up: "Really?" Alex: "No, I'm just screwing with you."

"AWW!" Sokka hung his head in defeat, while Suki laughed of the incident. They reached the doors of the sitting room, where Toph, Aang, Suki and Katara entered. Alex however, grabbed Sokka by the shirt, and held him back. He confronted Sokka, pointing to his face:

"Alright, we called you and Suki back because we found someone of great significance to you. In fact, I stuck my arm out to get this person to the point where I was hit by an arrow-." He jabbed his finger at his bandaged arm, and then pointed to his bandaged face: "-and burnt in the face."

Sokka looked at his confusedly, and asked: "What happened?"

"Fire Rebel HQ, rescued prisoner in living room, and that's all I'll say for now, other than this. When you see who it is, regardless of your reaction, you will be in tears."

Sokka looked at him worriedly: "Who is it? Tell me?"

"The person is just on the other side of the door, you idiot! Either way, you will cry, either by joy for seeing this person, or by a serious blow to your genitals should you show no tears of joy, which I'll see as ungratefulness in that case."

Alex threw open the door: "Well, get moving! Any minute today darling would be very appreciated!"

Sokka marched into the room, muttering as he looked back towards the door: "Man, just cus' you're injured doesn't mean you get to be an asshole."

Sokka turned back to face the group in the living room, worried for his legs now. As he looked at them, he saw Katara and his father standing by a woman, dressed in a Southern Water tribe outfit. She had slightly dishevelled brown hair, and she had the same ocean blue eyes as Katara. As Sokka saw the resemblance, he turned to Hakoda in a very serious tone: "Dad, who is this?"

"Sokka, as hard as it is to believe, this is your mother."

For a minute, Sokka and Kya stared at one another, taking in each detail to appreciate and memorize, and in Sokka's case, try to see if this woman really was Kya. Sokka asked her: "What age did your daughter first show waterbending?" It was a question only Hakoda, Sokka, Katata or Kya knew the answer to. And yet, this woman answered it perfectly: "When she was age 3, she froze you in your bath during a month in the summer light."

Off to the side, Alex, having joined the group, stopped himself from laughing at that mental image. It was then that Sokka walked slowly to Kya, asking: "Mom? Is it really you?" Kya smiled through her tears, as she saw her son begin to weep for joy, and the two pulled each other into a hug, which Katara and Hakoda soon joined in.

As the Southern Water tribe royal family embraced in a long awaited reunion, Alex shared his thoughts with Toph and Suki: "This is the second person I accidentally came across that was missing for a while."

Suki tearfully looked at Sokka, saying: "I'm just so glad Sokka got his mom back, makes you think of your own family, doesn't it?"

Alex snorted, and said: "Well, it would, but my family are dead, so it can't really apply in my case." Suki then looked embarrassed, and said: "Oh, yeah, sorry. You actually confirmed your parents' deaths."

Alex looked downcast: "Yes, I'm the only one here who accidentally killed a parental figure, and indirectly killed the second by heartbreak."

Alex then smiled, and rubbed his hands together, saying to those two: "Well, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. And I shall be living to that saying tomorrow, when I find my alcohol limit in celebration. I believe I've rightfully earned it."

Toph punched Alex in the shoulder, saying: "Now you're speaking my language!" Alex said: "Hey thanks." As Toph looked away, Alex rubbed his punched left arm, ignoring Suki and Toph's giggles as he did so. Even Sokka and Kya had broken off to see the brief exchange.

Between tomorrow and now, the group would fill in Sokka and Suki on info on the raid and Kya's tour in prison, and Alex would reveal to Kya his forged back story.

**February 22****nd****, Fire nation Capital plaza, festival.**

The evening events were filled with dancing, music, food and entertainment everywhere.

It was not since the end of the century war that such celebration was seen in the capital city, and the mood of the citizens was joyous. Children watched performers, cheering as they saw spectacular tricks performed. Couples danced in the plaza, in rhythm with the music. And off to the sidelines, numerous stalls and restaurants were packed.

In one such restaurant-

"Twenty-hic, one!" Alex raised his most recent empty pint jug in declaration. The bar roared in amazement, as only he and another person, a large, well muscled man, were left in the drinking game. The score was now Alex on 21, to the other on a mere 14 pints. Off to the side, Toph, Hakoda and Suki stood by with their mouths agape. Surely Alex would have passed out by now?

Toph however, was loving it: "He wins this, I get easy money!" Hakoda looked at the blind girl in surprise: "You bet on him?"

"Yep, so he'd better win." Then, the older man fell backwards off his chair, and the bar erupted in roars and cheers as Alex stood up on the table, swaying on his feet slightly, while doing mock bows. Suki commented: "I think he just did."

Alex jumped off the table, and as he stumbled, he called to the barman while throwing him some silver pieces: "Hey barman! How 'bout one for the road?" The crowd handed him another drink while some patted him on the back. "Thanks-hic!"

Toph barely controlled her laughter as she asked a stumbling Alex: "Hey dimwit, you okay there?" Alex surprised them in an analytical tone: "21, or soon 22 pints of ale? I'm just stumbling on my feet is all. Other than that I'm fiIINE!" Alex fell forwards slightly, but Hakoda and Suki just caught him mid fall. Luckily for Alex, he didn't spill his drink.

Suki suggested: "How about we let you sit down somewhere?" Alex grinned, and said: "Alright, near the dance floor, I'd like to see who's good and who sucks."

Over near the dance floor, Kya was stood by Sokka, Ursa and Iroh. They looked over to see Hakoda and Suki half dragging Alex across towards them, with a cackling Toph behind them. As they set Alex down on a nearby bench, the four others walked over, trying to stifle their amusement. Sokka asked: "Too much to drink?" Alex meekly nodded, and said in an airy voice: "21-hic pints, 'scuse me." Alex then downed his next pint of ale in a few gulps, giving a loud belch as he finished. All present grimaced or laughed at this, and let Alex finish: "Make that 22 pints of ale, and I'm only unsteady on my feet. That stuff's weak!"

Iroh laughed at this: "I can't even drink 6 pints without getting near drunk." Alex laughed at this: "Ha! Lightweight!" Alex then looked around, and asked Kya: "Hey, I may be near drunk, but I can see some are missing. Where are Katara and Aang? Or Zuko and Mai?"

Ursa and Kya looked to the dance floor, and the others all saw both couples dancing together in near perfect harmony to the slow music now being played by the nearby band. Aang was dressed in ceremonial air nomad robes, and Katara was slowly leading him, dressed in a long blue water tribe outfit, and her long hair let down past her shoulders and down her back, similar to the earth kingdom hairstyle and dress she wore on special occasions.

Zuko was dressed in his Fire Lord robes, and was holding Mai close to him as he swayed, while she wore a set of long, fire nation dress robes, with her hair pinned up in its usual fashion.

Kya sighed, and Hakoda came up beside her. Kya said to her husband: "I missed so much. My little girl's now all grown up, she's found the perfect man for herself."

Hakoda looked at her, and said: "Aang does love her very deeply, he'd do anything for Katara." Kya giggled, and remarked: "She really is like me then. I had you wrapped around my little finger just like she has Aang now." Hakoda then pulled Kya into a hug, and said: "Well, soon may come the time when Aang summons the courage to ask Katara for her hand in marriage." Kya looked at him slyly: "Oh, how long do you think?"

Toph answered this question: "I'd say about a few months, when he's 16, old enough by your customs to marry." As she said this, the slow music ended, and the couples retreated off the plaza. As Aang and Katara returned, Kya gave Aang a nod of approval, showing she trusted her daughter's love for him.

As a new, but still slow dance music piece came on, Sokka asked Suki to come onto the dance floor with him. As they went, Hakoda offered a hand to Kya, who graciously took it as he led her out also. As Alex looked at both couples, he looked around at the group, and when he saw Toph, he got a daring idea. He found himself looking at her long black hair, which she had let down form her previous, pinned up style by Katara's advice. The ebony locks attracted Alex's gaze, along with her faded green eyes, hidden at times by her long fringe. Her dress was like the clothes she normally wore, but in the evening light it showed off her mature figure very well. Standing up, Alex offered his hand to Toph, and asked in a careful tone of voice: "Care to dance?" Toph looked incredulously at him, and said with a small snort: "I can't dance well." Alex looked at her, and said; "It's a slow dance, it's hard to make mistakes. Besides, I can't dance as well as others, but that's not stopping me. Besides, your attractiveness will definitely distract anyone from any misplaced steps."

Toph blushed at this, and asked: "You think I'm attractive?" Alex said in an honest tone: "I call people how I see them, and you are definitely attractive by any standard. Now, shall we?" Gladly, Toph took Alex's hand, and let him lead her onto the dance floor.

Off to the side, Aang looked amazed at what just happened: "Did Toph just agree to dance with someone?" Katara looked on, saying: "Aww, that's so sweet, I think Alex has a crush on Toph." Zuko then added: "A crush on Toph? He'll end up being crushed if he says something wrong."

On the dance floor, Alex stood close to Toph, and as she looked up at his face, both of them realized just how big the height difference between them was. A foot height separated them, which made the dance slightly awkward, but nonetheless special to both of them. This was the first time Alex and Toph had first danced with someone else like this.

Toph then said to him: "I'm not sure if I can dance, or even look up at you while doing it." Alex looked down at her, and reassured: "Just match my foot movements, you'll be absolutely fine." As Alex pulled her in, a hand wrapping around her shoulders, they slowly began to waltz around in circles, taking the dance slowly, but almost never once missing a step.

After a minute, the pair fell into a slow rhythm, and as Alex moved his other hand beneath her arm, she reached up to hold his waist and shoulder. With a high reach, she secured a hold on Alex's right shoulder. As they continued to slowly spin, Alex felt Toph gasp slightly, as she felt his shoulder, around the massive scar where he had to near sever it in his first life. He said: "What?"

She looked into his eyes, with foggy green meeting crimson red, and she asked as they continued to Waltz: "How did that happen?" Alex exhaled slightly, and said: "That scar was perhaps the most painful for me, because unlike the rest, I didn't get it quickly. I was stabbed through the shoulder and pinned to a wall by a sword. It was near the top of my shoulder, and I needed to escape very badly. So I just quickly yanked myself downwards, and the sword tore a chunk out of my shoulder. Nonetheless, I was free. Heavily wounded, but free."

Toph pressed a hand against his shoulder, and commented softly: "You seem to take so much damage, it's a miracle you survived so much." Alex then said: "Yes, a miracle you could say. What followed that wound was the most traumatic experience I ever faced." As the music ended, Toph heard Alex' voice waver at the last comment. As they walked off the plaza, she said: "I'm not one to normally comfort, but you don't have to share all your past if you don't want to."

Alex smiled fondly at the little 15 year old earthbender, and said; "Thank you, I've just had many experiences that I don't want or need to retell. It's great that a beautiful girl such as you can understand this so well." Toph looked away, a small blush creeping onto her face.

As Toph came back over, Katara saw Alex smile at her, and say something that caused the young earthbender to look away and blush. Alex left her side, going off to a nearby bench to relax to himself. As Toph came back over, Aang too noticed the blush on her face. Katara asked: "So what did he do?"

"Not much, we just danced together, nothing to complicated, just a simple waltz. Then I felt just how bad that scar on his right shoulder was, and he told me how it happened."

She then retold Alex's story, and then Kya, Hakoda, Sokka and Suki returned from their dances to listen also. The rest had gone off elsewhere for now. None of them knew the full story of Alex's history, in fact, he remained a mystery to them all in many respects. However, the fact that he sported such an extensive collection of old and new injuries and scars gained him sympathy from them all.

However, despite his sacrifices, despite his cold, sometimes stoic nature, he had found solace in this collection of companions from around this world, who supported him, accepted him and valued him, especially after he helped end the Fire rebellion and return both Ursa and Kya.

He had a new planet to call home. He had taken the best of both worlds, the technology he needed to defend and maintain his secret powerbase being on the island, and a new social group to be an integral part of on the mainland.

He had found a place where he truly felt home.

**February 22****nd****, 2900. Planet Feresil, Gau 24 system.**

The two apprentices stood aboard the cargo shuttle, waiting for the deployment. Norstith's orders had been clear, to kill all inside and retrieve the information as quickly and quietly as possible.

As the shuttle docked with the orbiting space station, the access tunnel opened, and under cloaking the two of them set off into the hallways, silent in their footsteps. As they rounded the first corner, a security guard walked in front of them. As he passed them, the male apprentice held out a hand, and using his own dark matter, choked the Kro'nogri security guard. Before the guard even hit the floor, the two of them had stolen his access key-card, and were now headed for the main vault.

Inside the vault corridor, the two apprentices de-cloaked. Both were clad in organic looking armour, each one highlighting their figure, and the armour itself resembled a coloured muscle tissue suit. The male wore a smooth black helmet, with a gray jaw structure beneath it, and his bodysuit was coloured black with red trimmings and muscle lines, showing off his well developed muscles and masculine build very well. Te female wore a similar black and gray helmet and jaw structure, but her suit hugged her curves and muscles also. Unlike the male, her suit had white trimmings instead.

After a few tense minutes, the vault was open, and the pair of them secured the information data devices in their pockets. As they made their way back up towards the shuttle, they killed each person they met in the quickest way possible. The female would draw one of her double swords and stab her victims in the neck mainly, for an instant death with minimal bleeding. The male however, preferred to sever his victims at the abdomen, stabbing the spine to kill them, but also severing many blood vessels and the intestines as he thrust his blade into each person's body. As such, the male's victims were left in a less dignified state.

Within a half hour, it was all over. The cargo shuttle was long gone, and as it had jumped to warp speed, the other security drones and personnel had alerted the base of the robbery and the killings.

Alex may be gone, but his legacy had literally lived on, in those two. Norstith had made sure of that.


	13. Chapter 13

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 13: Revelations**

**8****th**** March 2900**

**Sestroval. Khuron system, 400 light years from Sol.**

On a planet-side military training facility, chaos and destruction spread like a disease.

The UIP garrison and cadets had been ambushed by the KI strike force, who had somehow snuck past the sensor satellites. Even though the KI brought a relatively small strike force, they were brutally determined to cause as much destruction as possible. Equally, the UIP defenders fought back hard, taking no prisoners.

On the ground, a familiar Mech and Na'vi fired at incoming KI troopers, whilst sheltering behind a low defensive wall with some other UIP troopers.

As a pair of masked KI troopers ran towards their cover, Sru'sky took quick aim with her heavy plasma rifle, and fired a spread-burst. Both were hit, their deaths almost instantaneous. Before any KI troops could fire on her, she ducked down behind the wall, just as Trion leapt up to fire a long stream from his fusion cannon. The concentrated energy blasts blew away another 4 troopers.

Suddenly, a nearby wall section was blown away, and in the explosion's aftermath a pair of KI walker suits charged towards them from the side. In panic, the UIP troopers with them opened fire on the leading suit, and managed to damage the leg servos enough to render it crippled. The lead suit collapsed, but the second suit thundered past it, and opened fire on the troopers with its minigun. The rapid plasma fire tore into their ranks, killing or wounding those not quick enough to dodge before the firing started. Sru'sky pulled up her heavy plasma rifle, and let loose on the walker suit with a steady stream of plasma fire.

The suit recoiled from the fire, but seemed relatively undamaged. As it turned to walk towards her, Trion charged towards the walker, extending his fusion cannon's built in blades. The walker suits were 15 feet tall, the same height as Trion, but the fact that Trion was in an unobstructed body gave him and advantage. As the metal titans collided, Trion thrust his blades into the side of the walker suit. The suit's driver flailed the arms in a move to grab the mech, but Trion twisted around and slashed off one of the suit's arms wit his blade. In confusion, the driver turned to face Trion, trying to bring its other arm to bear its weapons, though not quickly enough. Before the driver could aim, Trion shot the walker suit through the chest, killing the driver with a high powered fusion cannon blast.

Behind Trion, the first walker suit struggled its right arm upwards, aiming its heavy minigun at the mech's back as it lay uselessly on the ground. Suddenly, Sru'sky appeared from nowhere and shot the suit's arm with her rifle, the plasma burst rendering any weapons inoperable. Seeing that both suits were incapable of fighting now, Sru'sky ran over to Trion, who was now looking over towards a distant group of UIP defenders hauled up in a distant hanger, down the vehicle tunnel.

"You okay?" Asked Sru'sky. Trion nodded, giving off a metallic click as he did so. As he began to follow Sru;sky to the hanger, he picked up a transmission from the control tower:

"Help, intruders in the control room. They've snuck in somehow, they-oh god! No, no, NO!" As the transmission cut off, Trion yelled to Sru'sky: "We need to get to the control room now!" Sru'sky looked down at the floor, examining the KI and UIP bodies alike. She pointed out: "We'll need more ammo. Grab any grenades or guns we can afford to carry!"

Within a minute, the two of them were climbing the service stairs up to the control room, ascending 8 stories. Trion ran at Sru'sky's pace, in order for both to arrive on the scene simultaneously, since there was safety in numbers. He had grabbed a set of grenades to carry from bodies below in the hallways. Trion had not changed much these past few months, still keeping the silver armour he had grown accustomed to.

Sru'sky had changed more, as she now wore a brown and yellow camouflaged set of armour, still carrying her wrist blades, but now using a heavier rifle and a grenade launcher.

The pair ran to the control room doors, and as the doors slid open, they saw a horrific sight. Bodies of men and women, Human, Romulan and Predator, strewn all over the floor of the control room, some in a puddle of blood, others more neatly killed. The biggest surprise was the people in the centre of the room.

In the centre of the room, two figures stood ominously. One was wearing an organic, almost muscular full body suit, black coated with white trimmings over it. A dark grey jawboned helmet with a black, smooth full helmet visor, and an X shaped dark grey pattern on the helmet's front, sat atop the figure's head. By the curving shape of the figure, the person was a female, either Human, Vulcan or Romulan.

The second was a slightly bulkier person, a well toned male, dressed in a similar black organic full body suit, except with red trimmings. The dark grey jawed helmet also had a smooth black visor with a dark grey X pattern on the front. However, this male had one more person on him. The last surviving control officer, a young human female.

Trion stepped towards the two, standing 10 metres away, and carefully said: "Release the officer, turn yourselves in, and we won't have trouble." As he finished, the pair turned to face them. As he did so, the male laughed in a cold, oily voice, before retorting: "But of course I'll release her." As he lowered her to the floor, she looked ready to sprint to the exit. Sru'sky looked expectantly, hoping nothing would happen now. But, the woman suddenly shuddered, and blood began to drip from her chest, as a long sword had suddenly stabbed through her torso. As the body fell to the floor, the male chuckled, and said: "And what better release is there than death?"

Alarmed at the hostility, Trion and Sru'sky armed themselves, ready for a fight. As Trion scanned their figures carefully, he recalled the reported attack on Feresil, in the Gau 24 system 2 weeks ago. He asked: "Were you the ones caught on sensors committing the massacre aboard the Feresil military station two weeks ago?"

The female nodded, and the male then replied: "Well, not as dumb as others of your kind see you to be, are you?" The male then signalled to the female, and the two split apart, slowly approaching the Na'vi and Mech. The female then spoke:

"We were given orders to kill all in this base." The male and female then drew a pair of swords each, activating plasma and vibro settings, the blades now humming and glowing blood red with plasma. The male then spoke: "Perhaps you two will at least pose a challenge." With a shriek, the female leapt at Sru'sky, raising her double blades overhead for a downward swipe.

As the female landed, with Sru'sky having only just dodged the attack, the male had leapt towards Trion, catching the Mech off guard with his speed. He passed by the mech, one of his outstretched swords slashing through Trion;s fusion cannon, causing it to shut down due to inoperableness. In shock and pain, Trion recoiled as he saw his primary weapon was gone now.

Taking advantage of this, the male deployed a hidden plasma rifle, attached to his armour inconspicuously. At point blank range he fired a burst into Trion's face plating, almost destroying one of Trion's optics. The mech recoiled in pain, but quickly rushed forwards with his cannon's blade extended, hoping to impale the male. With unnatural speed, the dark male dodged the blade, and in his spin, he continued to fire plasma bursts. Trion swung and stabbed, but was unable to even scrape the male, while he struggled to avoid most of the male's plasma bursts. On the last side flip, the male became surrounded in a familiar dark aura. As he landed, he thrust his hand towards Tron in a punching motion.

Trion was blown off his feet, as a blast of black-purple fire impacted his shoulder like a battering ram. He hit the control room wall, and fell to his knees in recovery beside a nearby corpse. He looked at the male in shock and horror, hoping to any superior beings that exist that this was not who he thought it was.

Sru'sky fended off the female, who had swung, hacked and stabbed at Sru'sky ferociously with her twin swords, causing the Na'vi to retreat backwards. While Trion was busy with the male, Sru'sky ducked, weaved and countered all the attacks in a bid to survive. Even as the female activated built in heavy pistol weapons on her wrists, and fired away at her, Sru'sky avoided all of the shots, adrenaline catalysing her movement speed.

As she dodged another slash at her ankles, Sru'sky saw Trion get propelled backwards by a dark projectile, from the male's fist. She screamed out loud, as she saw the display of horrifically familiar abilities from the male, and as the female also smashed her side with her own dark projectile. While Sru'sky had been distracted, the female had gathered dark matter into her arm, and had viciously swung at Sru'sky, sending the Warrior Princess to hit the control room wall, hard.

Sru'sky and Trion glared at the two assailants, their faces demanding an answer. Sru'sky then asked the male in an angry tone: "Alex! Why are you doing this?" At this, the male cocked his head slightly, before he chuckled darkly. He stepped towards them, taking care to kick a dead body out of the way first. He then spoke while pointing to himself and the female: "You think Alex was the only one trained in these abilities? Our master had more than one student." The female then spoke, in a tone softer than the male's, laced with contempt and sadness simultaneously: "After the Mars skirmish last November, Alex ran away from the KI into unknown space, taking a sizable fleet with him. He is now a traitor, and our master is sad and angry that his first apprentice abandoned him like that." The male then scoffed, and said: "Yes. He left a message saying he didn't want to work for the KI anymore if it meant killing lives he saw as innocent. If that doesn't show a lack of loyalty, then nothing does."

Sru'sky and Trion glanced at each other in surprise. So Alex was no longer in this war, in known space at all? That meant he was still out there, evading justice for his crimes. And yet, he had left because he had become disheartened, just like how he left the UIP. Was he loyal to anyone?

Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the base, and a cloud of black smoke rose from beyond the control room window. The female then spoke to the male: "We have to go, the strike force is pulling out." The male nodded, and addressed the two before they left: "Consider your survival a blessing. Our orders were to inflict a psychological blow, and I think we've done sufficient damage, and we were also told to leave you alive. Personally, I'd gouge out your eyes and shoot you in the heads if I could." The male then turned to run at the control room window, and fired a hidden grenade launcher, which was too dangerous to himself in the previous close range fight, at the transparisteel. The window broke, and he leapt into the air, forming the dark matter into a wing shape of sorts, gliding to the KI transports far below like a flying squirrel.

The female looked at the pair of them, and muttered a sad: "I'm sorry." She too then turned to leap out the window, and glide to the soon to depart transports. Inside, Trion and Sru'sky looked at each other, confused at the female's apparent guilt at her actions compared to the male, and also that these to had learnt the same unknown abilities from their master that Alex had learnt. That meant they were extremely dangerous.

Suddenly, Sru'sky groaned in pain, as her adrenaline rush wore off, and the broken ribs she had sustained from the blow into the wall began to take their toll. Desperately, Trion sent a transmission for an immediate medic up in the control tower, and he pulled Sru'sky's body into his own, using his much larger body's warmth to keep her calm and relaxed until help came.

**10****th**** March 2900, Teranthos nebula, Emancipator.**

The two apprentices knelt before Norstith, as their master debriefed them on their latest mussion:

"I trust all went well in the attack?" The female responded, saying: "Yes. Our forces killed roughly half of the people there, and wounded many others. We ran into some trouble before we pulled out?"

Norstith's avian eyebrows quirked in interest, and the male was the one who responded: "Alex's old companions, Sru;sky and Trion. They must have gotten a distress call from a control room worker we killed. We fought them, and we won by surprising them with our dark matter combat skills."

"So they now know that Alex was not the only one I taught?" The male nodded, and Norstith then gestured for both of them to rise to their feet. Both rose obediently, and Norstith laid a hand on each of their shoulders, saying: "Well done both of you. In your brief time with me as your master, you have impressed me. Now that your existence is known, the UIP and alliance will step up their efforts to locate us, and our only leaked information is that we are searching for Alex. They find him, and we get to him through them." He patted each on the shoulder, and bid them goodnight, saying: "You're dismissed. Get some rest, as your next mission will be within 4 days, so relax while you can."

"Thank you master." Both chimed, and they then walked out to their quarters aboard the gargantuan vessel.

Later that evening both apprentices had headed off to their respective quarters, which neighboured each other in a hallway. The male had gone ahead early, wishing to get some more sleep. Now the female walked towards her room, eager to lie down for a long sleep, looking out through her porthole at the nebula before nodding off. As she moved to open her door, the opposite door slid open, and the male slowly approached her. He asked her gently:

"You sure you're fine?" The female brushed him off, giggling at his protectiveness, while also brushing aside her long black hair, to reveal her yellow eyes and pale face: "C'mon, you know as well as I do that I can take care of myself. Besides, I'm just as old as you are."

The male smiled, his yellow eyes easily visible with his short cut black hair and pale skin: "Hey, I can't help it if I feel protective of you, it's in my nature as a brother."

"Yeah? Well how come I saved your ass many times in the past year or so, if you're meant to be the one protecting me?"

"That's different, I just worry about you. Other than Norstith, we've only got each other." As the male realized he was beginning to sound like a sap, he smirked and said: "Not that it's an issue for me at least."

The female giggled softly, and turned to her door, calling back as she entered and shut her door: "Get some rest Xale, I think we've both earned it." Her door slid shut, and the male turned on his heel, muttering softly as he entered his room: "Right. Good night Lexa."

The door slid shut, and the two apprentices, Xale and Lexa, settled down for their period of rest.

**11****th**** March 2900, Ki'ristalis.**

In their shared apartment, Trion sat on the large couch, as he mentally scrolled through all data records regarding Alex or these two new 'apprentices', as the media were calling them. All records were void, as those two had appeared from nowhere, with now leaked mission debriefings and investigations revealing that those two had been in operation for merely a few months. Before that, no records existed of them anywhere.

Beside Trion, Sru'sky lay down on the other couch, resting her bandaged torso. Despite all medical research and advances in all the centuries passed, broken bones still needed at least a week to heal properly. She gently slept on the couch, with a thermal blanket wrapped over her, provided by Trion. As Sru'sky lightly groaned before falling silent again, Trion couldn't help but let a smile grace his facial plating.

With her injury, and the way he acted in order to protect her from harm while they waited for a medic, had revealed to Trion that he had much deeper feelings for her than he had previously anticipated. This went beyond a simple admiration or crush, as organics called it. He was deeply in love with her. The gentleness of her voice, her wildness in battle and the way she had stayed so strong in the face of uncountable hardships, particularly Alex's fall from grace, resurrection and Quirinth's current condition.

Trion sagged his hulking shoulders, realizing they could never be. She probably did not share such feelings, and even if she did, they were physically incompatible, and cross species relationships were often rare and strained, due to this incompatibility. Still, Trion believed, as Sru'sky did, that love came in whatever from it manifested itself in for a reason. And right now, he was maddeningly in love with the sleeping Na'vi on the couch opposite.

An hour later, when Trion had gone into a recharge nap himself, Sru'sky had woken up, removing the thermal blanket from herself slowly to avoid any pain. She smiled at Trion, her ever loyal friend and companion. He had stayed here the entire time she had slept, which she knew considering he was easy to hear leaving. Sru'sky had grown dependant on Trion's companionship, as she may have slipped into depression without him. Alex's betrayal and return and what he did to Quirinth and her father had left Sru'sky heartbroken, and yet through all the strife and sorrow, Trion had always been there to help her through the bad times.

She carefully approached Trion, and gently tapped his armoured thigh, to wake him up. He slowly clicked, and his blue optics flickered to life, before he looked at the green eyed Na'vi in surprise. He rumbled: "You're up."

Sru'sky nodded, and then asked: "I'd like to visit Quirinth today." As she sadly finished her statement, Trion's optics flickered as he processed the request. He understood and sympathised, for Quirinth had been a close friend of his too. Of course, he would help Sru'sky get to the hospital also.

Trion slowly rose up, and he: "Yes, we should visit her. I'm sure she'd enjoy the company of she were awake." Sru'sky sadly looked at the floor, and then limped off to her room to get her things ready.

Within a few minutes, the Mech and Na'vi were boarding a taxi, bound for the nearby central hospital.

**Local General Hospital, Ki'ristalis.**

By now, the receptionist staff and the robot workers were familiar with the sight of the 15 foot silver Mech and the Na'vi woman entering the building, for they housed a long term patient that those two frequently visited whenever they could.

After travelling up to the 45th floor and walking, or limping in Sru'sky's case, down a long corridor, they arrived at the room they were looking for. With well practised calmness, Trion pushed open the door, to let Sru'sky walk in first, who he followed soon after.

Inside, a lone bed stood, surrounded by medical equipment, which was calibrated and programmed to ensure the patient's survival. Qurinth lay under the covers, her reptillain/insect-like head motionless and peaceful. The heart monitor off to the side provided the only background noise, a constant beeping, a reminder that despite the coma, Quirinth was still alive. Carefully, Sru'sky and Trion walked over to the side of the bed.

"Hey, we came here to see you today." Said Sru'sky, as she watch Quirinth's motionless face. With no response, Trion slowly handed Sru'sky a plastic flower they had picked up on the way in. Carefully, Sru'sky set them in the vase, containing a flower from each time they visited her. Trion then sadly commented: "It's 191 days since she was put into the coma. We visited her 38 times since then." Sru'sky realized that due to Alex's obsession with vengeance, he had robbed Quirinth of not quite her life, but had already robbed Quirinth of over half a year of her life. Sru'sky laid a hand on Quirinth's still arm, her large blue hand easily covering her thin, reptilian arm.

"She did not deserve this."

Suddenly, Trion remembered what he had once said over Alex's grave:

"**He didn't deserve what happened to him." **

He laid a servo on Sru'sky's shoulder, and said: "Ironic. I said the exact same thing over Alex's grave 4 months after he had died." He hovered over Quirinth's comatose form, and said quietly: "Wake up soon. We need you now, more than ever." As Sru'sky turned to leave, Trion quickly followed, helping her as she carefully walked, trying not to strain her cracked ribs.

As they sat in the taxi, Sru'sky sadly stated: "This madness won't end until Alex is stopped." Trion nodded, but realized that the UIP, the Alliance and even the KI had no idea where he had gone to.

**13****th**** March 2900, Solaris, 1200 light years from sol, Island base.**

Alex dodged another attack, and fired back with a burst from a plasma rifle. His opponent dodged with a quick midair spin, reacting unnaturally quickly. As soon as he landed, Raxler had deployed his own dark matter supplies, and had formed a shield in front of him as he charged, while extending his swords. As raxler bore down on him, Alex thrust his hand downwards, sending Raxler soaring into the air on a pillar of dark matter, hitting him hard in the abdomen.

The robotic doppelganger flew in the air, coiling his body around to fire a burst at Alex as he soared overhead. In surprise, Alex only barely managed to raise a dark shield in defence, blocking the plasma burst. As he fell, Raxler used a quick burst from his own turbofan pack to slow his descent, and landed on the ground with enough force to shatter normal human bones. As he landed, he fired a massive pulse of dark matter, like a meteor, at Alex.

In response, Alex leapt to the side, and thrust out his arm, sending a dark tendril towards Raxler. In response, the robot took control of the tendril for himself, and sent it straight back. Alex cut the tendril down the middle with a swipe of his won sword, coated in dark matter itself. As he split the tendril, he saw Raxler jump overhead, and come straight at him, swords extended. Thinking quickly, Alex prepared.

As Raxler tackled Alex, the robot's scanners saw Alex disintegrate into a cloud of black smoke. A copy! As soon as Raxler skidded to a halt, he found himself with a sword pressed against the back of his neck. Alex stood behind him, about to declare victory, until he looked at Raxler's shoulder.

On Ralxer's right shoulder, a single dart launcher had been deployed, and was aimed at Alex currently. Had they been really fighting, both would have died/deactivated.

The buzzer sounded, and the practise fight was over. Alex stood up, and let Raxler rise to his feet. Alex commented:

"Your speed and strength are slightly greater than my own, which gives you an advantage, which you have been employing routinely to good effect." Raxler looked at Alex emotionlessly, the grafted image of Alex's face on the robotic doppelganger showing no emotion whatsoever. Alex then pointed out the flaw: "You are still lacking in creativity however, but if anything you have been constantly improving."

"Thank you for the compliments, I shall focus on improving my creativity as my newest objective."

"Very good. Now get some recharge or something, I think you've earned it." Alex said to Ralxer as he walked off, eager to check the security before he left for the mainland.

Inside the island control room, alarms were blaring as an unidentified spacecraft was passing into the planet's atmosphere. Alex rushed to the screen, and brought up the image.

A UIP probe.

Alex had feared the day would come where he would be located, but he had not anticipated that it would be this early. He slammed the nearest control panel ahrd enough to dent it, and loudly swore, before shouting: "Why must I always be pursued!" Unconcernedly, he issued the order for the probe's destruction, knowing fully well that it had already transmitted the coordinates of this system, planet and the fleet stationed around it. Luckily, Alex always kept the island under multiple layers of particle and ray shielding, and also had the ability to shield the island in a cloaking field, at the expense of no weapons fire or vehicle entry/exit. If the planet was invaded, this island could stay hidden.

However, he would need to move the fleet in order for it to survive should the invaders prove too strong.

As soon as the probe was destroyed, Alex issued orders: "Begin manufacture of additional military units and weapons and ammunition, increase reactor energy capacity, and I want a reminder of any other invading signals relayed directly to me as soon as they are received!"

As the robots scrambled around the control room, carrying out his orders, Alex walked down to the medical ward, where two prized subjects rested.

Inside, one subject lay down inside a preservation tube, no longer living and laying in a shattered armoured suit. Alex's old body. He had taken the liberty of taking it with him on the Liberator, his deemed personal starship, and had now moved it to this more secure location. It held great sentimental value to Alex.

The other subject, known as A76, lay suspended in its growth fluid tube, still having a month until full maturity. He was the backup plan, he was Alex's last resort, should everything go wrong for him.

Hopefully, Alex thought, that day would never come.

Alex boarded the shuttle, ready to secretly drop him on the mainland, near to where his next destination was, another peace meeting in Ba Sing Seh. As he flew, he dearly hoped that when the fight comes to this world, he could keep it quiet and out of the way of everyone, perhaps out in space only.

_Its only a matter of time now._

**14****th**** March, Ki'ristalis**

The news spread fast, they knew where Alex now was. He was hiding in an uncharted system 1200 light years from Sol, and had stationed a considerable fleet around the planet he was based on.

Plans were drawn up, Sru'sky and Trion gladly volunteered, and with newfound determination the UIP set up the plan to instigate the raid on the planet that would finally capture Alex, alive.

**14****th**** March, Teranthos Nebula, Emancipator.**

Norstith, Xale and Lexa looked at the report, now knowing where Alex had retreated to.

Norstith looked at the coordinates, and muttered: "You will return to me, willing or not."

He then turned to Xale and Lexa: "Alex is found. Bring him in alive."

Both chanted: "Yes Master."

The hunt was on.


	14. Chapter 14

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 14: Tension and Oracle.**

**21****st**** March 2900. Ba Sing Seh, Earth King's palace.**

Over a week had passed since Alex's island sensors had detected and dispatched the UIP recon drone. Since then, military build-up and surveillance had been top priority. Alex was taking no risks, and was always within contact of his forces, and had even stationed a permanent shuttle flight on alert in orbit aboard the Liberator, ready to drop in to assist him at a moment's notice.

On top of this, Alex had initiated the creation of new weapons of war, in case the fight really heated up when it came.

So far though, no invasion had been detected.

Currently, Alex stood by a drinks table at side of the dance floor, not in the mood to dance with a bunch of noblemen and women. It was a gathering in the Earth Kingdom capital, to promote peace and cooperation between the three nations.

The Gaang was spread around the hall, doing what they could to fulfil any responsibilities, pass time, or to have a good time. Sokka was busy stuffing himself at the buffet table, and Suki was talking with Katara and Toph nearby, probably about 'feminine' concerns, though why Toph would talk about such things was strange, considering her tomboyish nature.

Aang and Zuko were talking with a group of earth kingdom and fire nation officials, and were helping Earth King Kuei deal with the constant political debates he was thrown. Northern water tribe chief Arnook was also there, pitching political balls at the avatar, fire lord and earth king to test their abilities to dabble in politics.

Hakoda and Kya were in the Southern water tribe, rebuilding, and Mai and Ursa had remained in the Fire nation, to govern while Zuko was away.

After his 6th glass of wine, Alex decided to head over to a nearby couch, so he could sit on it for a quick nap. Walking over to the couch, which was situated against the hall's walls, Alex sat down, and closed his eyes for a sleep. Not wishing to be disturbed, he activated his cloaking field, and was hidden from view.

Over at the buffet tables, as Sokka engorged himself, Katara, Suki and Toph had been talking about a common topic that interested them. Boys.

"-and to think I used to be taller than him, even when we first started dating!" Said Katara, to which Toph responded: "Well, Twinkletoes has shot up in over two years, why, you worried he might get too tall for you to kiss?"

Suki then smiled slyly at Toph, and commented: "Well, shouldn't you worry about that?" Toph looked confusedly at her, to which Suki said: "C'mon, we've seen how Alex, aka Mr. tall, dark and mysterious behaves around you, and you seem to have feelings for him."

Toph blushed madly at this, and quickly said: "No way, I don't fancy him!" Katara and Suki gasped at her reaction, and giggled in amusement, much to the blind 15 year old's embarrassment. Katara spoke: "Oh my spirits, you do like him!"

Toph looked away, and said: "Okay, so what if I do?" Suki commented: "Aww, our little Blind Bandit has a crush." Katara then asked: "Well, how much do you like him?" Toph thought for a moment, and said: "Well, he seems different to other boys. He's mysterious, and he's strong, independent, and uncaring of what others think of him, yet he cares about the well being of others at the same time. Also, his sense of humour is very good, at least better then Sokka's. I guess I like him because he reminds me partly of myself."

"So you like bad boys then?" Said Suki, to which Toph said; "I wouldn't say he's a complete bad boy. He seems like a shy person whenever he isn't determined to do something, but he can change his personality very quickly if the need comes up."

As Toph blushed at spilling her innermost thoughts of Alex, Katara also pointed out: "What about the dance you had with him a month ago at the celebration of the rebel downfall? How was it?" Toph giggled, an unusually girly act from one such as her, and said: "We did it simple, he led me in a waltz, since I could do it nice and slow. The way he held me was gentle, yet strong at the same time. His arms, oh man they were like rocks, so hard and yet so smooth and soft."

Katara looked at Suki, realizing this was serious. Toph was completely smitten by Alex. They had just yet to find out whether he felt the same way.

Suddenly, in the centre of the dance floor, a fight broke out between two groups of earth kingdom and fire nation officials and generals. They had been fighting over matters of political significance, and had made open, prejudiced remarks against the other nations. Now, a full on brawl had broken out, because one person had taken it too far,

Soon, more and more joined in, the racial tension spewing forth, and now over a quarter of the two hundred or so people present were fighting each other, eager to injure over matters of pride, honour and nation prejudice.

Up near the stage, Zuko noticed the fight breaking out in the centre of the dance floor, and immediately alerted those he was talking to. Aang and the Earth King looked over, and their faces became shocked and panicked. This was not what they had meant by 'resolving national tension'.

Aang stepped towards the fight, eager to end this fighting, while the Earth King called the head of the guards to call in more guards to remove those from the premises in the fight.

Aang called out: "Please! Let's not behave like children! We need to cooperate if we are to live peacefully!"

From within the brawl, a man spoke up: "We'll never be able to cooperate with the Fire nation, after a century of war, they expect us to readily accept them!"

Aang walked closer, hoping to directly break up the fight.

Off to the side, Alex was woken up by loud noises. Under cloaking, he saw a full on brawl taking place in the dance floor. This same group were intolerant of the other nation they formally opposed, and had a history of prejudice and trouble making.

And now they had spoiled a good dance with their petty problems.

Alex stood up, and invisible walked over to the drinks table to grab himself a quarter full bottle of wine all for himself. He had had enough of these petty disputes, and now he would force them to get along, or they would have to answer to him. It may be the avatar's to maintain peace, but sometimes more unorthodox methods were needed to attain peace first.

Alex dropped his cloaking field, and changed his clothing colour to his sinister black and red trimmed, and placed his helmet on his head. He then began to elbow his way through the gathered crowd, to 'quell' the dispute.

The brawl continued, as the unruly politicians and generals fought one another, landig punches and kicks while ignoring the avatar's pleas to stop. Katara, Sokka, Suki and Toph watched from the food buffet, disgusted that they could not get along.

Then from the other side, a dark figure walked onto the floor, and the watching crowds fell silent as he spoke his first words: "Pathetic."

The fight almost immediately stopped, and the brawlers and crowd watched in interest disdain as the masked figure raised a wine bottle up, somehow draining it through the mask into his mouth.

Alex smiled, the dark matter had allowed him to drink even while masked.

As the figure finished the bottle, he raised it up high, and threw it down on the floor, shattering near his feet. The crowd behind him stood back slightly, fearful of this person now. The figure shook his head in annoyance as he looked at the brawlers. He then went on, uncaring of how the Gaang stared at him in anticipation:

"Why is it, that when I had simply laid down for a quick rest, that I find myself awoken by an unruly racket happening at what should be peaceful event?"

On the walls, the shadows wavered unnaturally in the candlelight. The figure spoke again: "Representatives of the nations, fighting like children over pitiful matters of prejudice and grudges. I know not much of world politics, but I do know that if we are to live in a peaceful world, tolerance is paramount."

The shadows on the floors and walls grew slowly, as the figure walked around the dance floor slowly, until he came to stand between the brawler group and the main hall doors. On the opposite side, Zuko and the Earth King wondered where the guards were. Aang, realizing what may be about to happen, began to slowly step backwards, while motioning for Katara, Sokka, Suki and Toph to do the same.

As Alex came to a stop, he spoke in harsh declaration: "And if, ladies and gentlemen, we are to ensure tolerance is installed, we must demonstrate what happens to those who reject tolerance. And what fate should befall those who seek to disrupt the peace for their own ends? Well, in my view, they should all be thrown the place all evil people end up, the DARKNESS!"

At his last exclamation, the main doors blasted open, and shadows poured into the main hall, flying through the hall like fiery serpents. The hall turned dark, and screams sounded from all present. Alex thrust his arm forwards, in an order to begin attacking.

In the brawlers, dark tendrils materialized from all directions, above, below and the sides, and began rapidly coiling around them like serpents, before dragging them screaming towards the walls or ceilings to be trapped in the suffocating grip of darkness. The rest ran about, hoping to find and exit. As one group ran towards the main stage, hoping for the Avatar to help, Alex focused on them, and a pool of darkness formed beneath them, and blackness engulfed them and pulled them to the floor, restraining them like cement.

One by one, each brawler was grabbed and secured, with dark matter trapping them uselessly against the ceiling, walls or floor like a spider web. One group of four brawlers made a desperate bid for the exit, but Alex quickly thrust out his arm again, and grabbed them in a dark tendril each. Like a coiling snake, they were spun around and around, until they were almost completely wrapped in dark matter, suspended in the air above them, helpless to escape.

Alex smirked, and fully realized how useful dark matter cloaking was. These men were appearing to float in mid air, but were actually suspended from the walls and ceiling by invisible dark matter extensions.

Now, every single brawler, fire nation or earth kingdom, was trapped in a cocoon of pulsating dark matter, the black substance cold and unnatural to their senses. The crowd looked fearfully at them, and then back at the masked man, who had now begun to walk towards the centre stage, towards the avatar. What surprised them was that Aang appeared shocked, but at the same time pleased with what happened.

As the dark figure walked, he removed his helmet from his head, and his jacket, tunic and trousers changed colour once more, from black and red trimmed, to earth kingdom green, yellow and brown. From underneath, the familiar scarred face of Alex had emerged, the one who had played a critical part of destroying the Fire rebel HQ. He walked up to Aang, and declared: "I believe that has relieved you the task of stopping them fighting."

The guards then burst into the hall, and immediately froze at the sight of 50 or so officials restrained by shadowy bonds all over the hall, even in midair. The Earth King, having received a nod from Zuko that Alex could be fully trusted, ordered: "Guards, remove these guests from the palace immediately."

As the King gave the order, Alex raised his arm, and the officials on the ceiling and in midair were slowly lowered, until he released them 5 feet from the ground, to land painfully on the floor. Those on the floor and walls were released at the same time as those from the ceiling and midair. Before they could recover, the palace guards apprehended them, and led them out the door. As they left, the guards and former brawlers nervously avoided looking at Alex.

The hall doors shut, and the crowd of officials, generals and war heroes remained silent, all looking towards Alex. Putting all the pieces together, they realized what the Avatar and his companions had said when they mentioned that Alex was 'different'. He manipulated an element unheard of, a sinister and powerful element from the darkest nightmares, which had just been used to forcibly install peace, to great effect. Yet they were turned back by the fact that a sense of morality, peacefulness and noble aura was held by the Avatar and his friends, whilst Alex was a rouge, a dark horse among them.

After Alex had retreated back to the drinks table, the party slowly resumed, the events previously being pushed aside for now. Sokka had strayed onto the dance floor with Suki, twirling and stepping in time with her. Zuko was now at the food table, helping himself to some finger foods. Meanwhile, Toph, Katara and Aang had come over to the drinks table, where Alex was now finishing his 9th glass of wine, which was apparently rather weak, as he looked perfectly sober. He was talking with the drinks servant, who had loosened up after a while of speaking to the person who had unleashed a sinister new bending just minutes before.

"You sure that this is the strongest you have here?"

"Of course sir, but everyone is normally drunk after a 6th glass if you don't mind my say so."

Alex placed down the drink, and said: "Oh well, at least there's plenty of it to spare."

The servant looked at him, briefly noticing the Avatar, Toph and Katara approaching: "Surely the amount you are drinking could kill you?" Alex laughed at this, and said as he turned to face the dance floor: "Hey, I can tell you I'd rather die in a bottle of wine than how I could go otherwise."

As Alex turned, he saw Aang, Katara and Toph approaching. They all looked well dressed, with Aang wearing his ceremonial Air Nomad robes, Katara her bue Water tribe dress, and Toph in a green and white dress. Realizing he wanted to stay no longer, Alex walked over to them, and as he approached, Katara asked:

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Taken aback, Alex asked: "Fine, why do you ask?" Katara looked at him, and said: "You've been slightly on edge for a week since you came back from your last trip. Anything you want to tell us?"

"No, I'm just a little unsure of all this. I don't think I'm cut out for politics. You saw me lose my temper there minutes before. I might leave this party early."

"What, why?" Asked Toph curiously.

Alex just walked to the doors, and said simply: "I'm not really in a celebratory mood. I've got a lot of things on my mind."

Later that evening, Alex sat in his bedroom. The Gaang was using a house in the upper ring of the city, lent to them by the Earth Kingdom whenever they visited. He sat facing the window, staring up at the night sky, the stars glinting in the moonless night. Alex looked at the constellations, muttering to himself:

"C'mon, I know you're out there, searching for me. And if you find me, I'll end you."

Alex then heard the door close downstairs, as the Gaang returned from the gala. Alx had left them a note, saying he had gone to his room to sleep early. The next few minutes Alex heard them all wander off to their rooms, with Iroh, Suki, Toph and Katara sleeping in rooms opposite Alex's room, and Sokka, Aang and Zuko sleeping in rooms alongside Alex's.

Alex was then shattered from his brooding by a person knocking on his door. He walked up, and opened the door, to see Toph standing at the doorway, her body leaning against the doorframe, and her milky green eyes looking at him with concern.

"Hey, just came to say goodnight. You sure you're okay?" Alex found himself staring at her, her long black hair cascading down her back like an ebony waterfall, and her clothing hugging her figure in all the right ways. He was helpless against her.

He sighed, and said: "Yes, I just needed to get away and calm down. My temper has gotten the better of me in the past. I didn't want it to do worse than I already have done."

As he finished, Toph cupped his burnt cheek, and said before leaving: "You shouldn't keep your feelings bottled up, or they'll just damage you more on the inside. You shouldn't have to hide who you are." Toph turned to leave, and as she slid her room;s door shut, Alex was mesmerized by her lithe figure.

Shutting his door, Alex looked back out at the night sky, towards the constellations, and muttered: "I can't let anyone know who I really am." Alex slumped on the bed, engulfed by nostalgia and memories of all his sins, which he did in belief of doing the right thing.

**24****th**** March 2900, Makapu Village, Southern Earth Kingdom.**

"There it is, Aunt Wu's village!" Yelled Katara, as Appa flew down towards the village. Even from 2 miles away, the rock formations caused by Aang stopping the village's volcanic destruction were daunting.

As they all landed, the villagers came to welcome back the Avatar and his friends. Zuko had left the Gaang, choosing to return to the Fire Nation to maintain more order among the nation. The other 6, including Alex, had chosen to travel south to return Suki to Kyoshi island, then on to the South Pole. Along the way, Katara, and even Suki, had insisted they stop at Aunt Wu's village.

With a groan, Appa landed in the village square, to be met by a gathering crowd. Aang and Katara eagerly leapt off, while Suki followed happily, Sokka not so happily. Toph slid down Appa's fur, unsure of her bearings until she reached the ground. Alex was last to disembark, calmly climbing down Appa's fur coat. On the ground, the village mayor came forwards to greet them:

"Avatar Aang, it is an honour to have you revisit us after not only saving our village, but the entire world." Aang shrugged, and said: "I couldn't have done it without my friends backing me up." He then introduced everyone. "You already know about Katara and Sokka." The mayor bowed, saying: "It is an honour to be in the presence of the a Waterbending Master, and also apparently, the Avatar's love." At this, Katara blushed, and looked away. The mayor then turned to Sokka, and vaguely noticed the annoyed look on the Water Tribe man's face.

"Sokka, now a renowned master of the sword. It is an honour to have you back." He then turned to face Suki and Toph, who Aang introduced:

"This is Toph Bei Fong, my earthbending master and probably the greatest earthbender alive. And Suki of Kyoshi island, leader of the Kyoshi warriors."

Aang then gestured to Alex, who again stood over everyone else with his greater height: "This is Alex. The one who led the attack on the Fire Rebel base." Again the mayor bowed, and then he suggested they stay the night in a local tavern room.

Within minutes, everyone was settled into the two rooms. The boys and girls would sleep separately, with Suki, Katara and Toph in one room, and Aang, Sokka and Alex in the other. Momo would sleep with Aang, and Appa had an entire stable to himself out back.

As soon as they were unpacked, Katara led them all to Aunt Wu's fortunetelling service. As soon as they arrived, Toph commented: "We stopped for a day just to have our palms read?" Katara looked at her, and said: "Aren't you interested in hearing your fortunes?"

Sokka exclaimed: "Oh c'mon! That stuff is only predictions, it doesn't mean it'll actually happen!" Alex looked at him, and said: "I agree with you there, but I think I'll go in to just see how accurate she is, test her on my past perhaps."

Sokka waved them off, and said: "Whatever, I'll wait out here for you guys." The other five went on in.

They were met by Aunt Wu's assistant, a young girl called Meng. She was about 14 years old, and wore a pink and white robe set. As Alex got a good look at her hair, he did a double take. He had never seen such a vehemently strange hairstyle: Pigtails that extended a foot our each side? How did she get through doors?

Eagerly, Katara went through the doors first, which left the rest of them to wait behind. While Katara was away, Alex noticed Meng stealing glances at Aang from her desk, while Aang remained oblivious.

After 6 minutes, Katara came back, and her face was pleased: "It was the same fortune as before, but I can memorize it better now." Meng then called Aang in next, and Katara went out to wait with Sokka.

Over the next 30 minutes Aang, Suki and Toph entered the room opposite the door. During time Alex waited alone after Toph, he noticed Meng was somewhat 'interested' in him. He shot a quick glare at her, making sure to enhance the burn and cheek cut on his face for good measure. She visibly recoiled, and Alex smirked with amusement, realizing he could now scare off anyone he didn't like more easily.

When Toph exited, Alex noticed she seemed to avoid his gaze, and quickly exited the waiting room to join the others outside. Now it was his turn.

Alex rose from his seat, and strode into the opposite hall, and opened the door.

Outside, Toph explained her fortune to the others: "She said all sorts of stuff about my future. Said I'd have 3 kids, and live to a good old age. But she said the person I'd marry would be an outcast, a dark individual who was forced to flee his homeland. One who tried to fight for good using evil ways."

Aang frowned at this, and said: "I'm not sure if we know anyone who may be like-" As he realized who the prophecy may be pointing to, he looked back at the building, wondering what Alex's fortune may hold.

"Come in young man, and let's see what fate has in store for you."

Rolling his eyes slightly, Alex sat down on the floor cushion, and looked at the fire in the room centre. This woman, wearing yellow robes and with a thick hair bun, must be Aunt Wu. She then pointed to a plate of animal bones, and said: "Take a bone from the pile, any bone. We shall throw it on the fire, and the way the cracks from on the bone shall help determine your future."

Alex resisted the urge to laugh, and picked up a random bone, and handed it to her. Wu then placed it into the flames, being sure to poke the fire to keep it up. She stared at the bone, as did Alex, waiting for the first cracks to appear. Finally, a small one did, then another, and another. After a while, a very large crack formed in the bone, which was followed by the bone snapping in two. One half became dust, while the other continued to crack and crack continuously. It sounded like popcorn going off. It all ended when the bone split apart loudly, becoming ashes in the fire.

As Alex looked up, he saw Aunt Wu was looking at him confusedly and worriedly. He was curious, and asked: "Well, what does it all mean to you?"

She sighed, and said: "The bones reveal past and future. Apparently, you experienced constant hardship in your life, and at one point lately, you began to walk a vastly different path in life, shortly after which-" She tried to find the words, and Alex urged her on kindly. She took a breath, and said: "According to the bones, you died already. Yet your life continued."

Alex's eyes snapped open, and he felt himself stop breathing. How could she have known that? It was impossible, no one on this planet besides him knew of how he had cheated death. She saw his shock, and said: "I'm not sure of this, it may have just been a weak bone." Exhaling, Alex played along: "Yes, I guess so. No one can cheat death can they?" She shook her head, and said: "Of course not. Now, your future though, isn't well either."

"Why, what could possible happen?"

"The bones predict your past mistakes and former friends and adversaries will eventually cause your downfall, and the guilt you bear will become too much for you. Your death shall be a violent attempt at redeeming yourself." She then dismissed Alex, who then stood up to leave, but not before commenting: "If I return then, I guess your prediction will be wrong." She then nodded, and said: "For your sake, I hope I am wrong."

Alex walked out of the building, to where Sokka, Katara, Suki, Toph and Aang patiently waited. They asked him what he got told, but Alex said it was going to be a rather boring future for him, a few moment of strife now and again, but otherwise dull.

By the time the next morning came, all 6 had boarded Appa and were en route to Kyoshi Island.

**26****th**** March 2900, Kyoshi Island**

"SUKI, nice to have you back!"

As soon as the group had landed on the island, they had walked to the Kyoshi warrior dojo, where Suki wished to make her return known. As soon as they had entered, the second in command, Ty Lee, had rushed up and engulfed her in a hug.

As she released Suki, Ty Lee looked at all of them and declared: "Wow! Your auras are all so shiny and pleasant. You must all be doing well for yourself!"

A snort was heard from behind them, as Toph laughed slightly at the concept of auras. Beside her, Alex shared similar views, but kept them to himself, as he was too absorbed in his own thoughts. As she saw them Ty Lee noticed that the aura around Toph was not quite as bright as the others, but bright nonetheless. Alex however had a very dark aura, as if he was uneasy, tense and constantly hiding things. She then looked at him, and said: "Why's your aura so dark?"

Alex looked at her inquisitively, and muttered: "How would you know what my aura is like? And what the hell is an 'aura' anyway?" Ty Lee giggled at this, and said: "Aura is the spiritual glow you give off, which reflects the state of mind and spirit you're in. And you seem to have quite a dark aura."

Alex then decided to use this to his advantage: "Oh really, well then, if my aura reflects my mind, tell me this. Can you see it getting darker as you continue to pry at me with questions I'd rather not answer?" Ty lee's eyes widened at this, and she actually said: "Yes, it is getting darker actually." It was then she backed off.

By the end of the day, it was time for the Gaang to leave for the south pole. Sokka stood with Suki beside Appa, saying his final goodbyes. He embraced his wife, and said to her: "I'll be back soon, I promise."

They shared a deep passionate kiss, before Sokka reluctantly pulled away and climbed up onto Appa. With a quick cry of yip yip, Appa groaned and flew off south, hoping to fly all the way to the south pole non stop.

The last destination of their visits was next, as Sokka and Katara prepared to come home for the first time in a year.

**Solaris, 1200 light years from Earth, new Earth orbit.**

The two seater fighter craft entered the planet's atmosphere under cloaking, completely undetected by the scanner of Alex's fleet, led by the Liberator. They had detected no structures or forces on the ground, but they knew that they would lead Alex to them in order to find him.

As it happened, these two had been briefed on the planet's status of somehow having a less advanced human populace, with some being able to manipulate the elements around them.

Nevertheless, their presence, one known, would without doubt draw Alex in like a moth to a lamp. And as it would be, Xale and Lexa would have to capture him fast, as the UIP fleet was only a week away from arriving here. But by the time they arrived on 2nd April, Alex would belong to the KI once more.

It was only a matter of time.


	15. Chapter 15

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 15: Frigid home and Secrets revealed.**

**28****th ****March 2900. Southern Water tribe.**

Simply put, Katara and Sokka had missed the cold air of the south pole. Aang meanwhile was able to tolerate it.

Toph however was not looking forwards to being completely blind, due to there being no earth, and Alex was getting annoyed already by the cold air freezing his nose off. He was grateful for the blue parkas that Sokka and Katara had provided for the other three, but Alex still wished his face could be covered.

To pass the time, Sokka had begun a game of I spy, which had quickly become dull and predictable.

"I spy something beginning with-" Alex then interrupted from his sleep, not even bothering to look up, muttering semi-threateningly:

"If you finish that sentence, I will throw you off Appa. We all know its ice, or iceberg, or ice field, or ice shelf."

Sokka swallowed, and then meekly said: "I see something beginning with S?"

Alex looked at him, and said: "Snow, and if you ask anymore, I'll stab you, and then throw you off."

That statement ended the game, which Toph, and partly Aang and Katara were glad for. Thankfully, the trip only lasted another 5 minutes until the Southern water tribe came into view. Katara and Sokka leapt up to see their home, and Aang was exited to see how much it had come on with rebuilding since his last visit a year ago. Toph had stayed seated, having declared boldly: "Oh yeah, it's a real pretty sight!" She waved a hand comically in front of her face as she said this.

As they landed, the children of the tribe rushed out to meet them, eager to meet the heroes of their tribe. Katara and Sokka jumped down from Appa's head, whiel aang quickly leapt down also, just in time to get swamped by his 'little fans'. Alex meanwhile jumped down, and offered a hand up to Toph to climb down. Grumpily, she slid down, with Alex catching her as she came down. As he set hr bac down on the snow, she grumpily commented: "Great, now I am blind. There's no earth to help me see."

Alex shrugged his shoulders, and said: "Perhaps this can be an opportunity to further appreciate being an Earthbender." Toph let her shoulders fall, her confident demeanour diminished somewhat: "But I feel so helpless here." Alex looked at her, and said: "Look, if its any consolation, I'll help you whenever you need it here, at least in walking from place to place. Deal?"

Toph smiled at him, thankful for his helpfulness, and nodded in agreement. Alex then took a hold of Toph's arm, leading her over to Aang, Katara and Sokka, who were now being greeted by their parents.

Katara and Sokka hugged their mother and father, happy to see them once again. They were especially happy for their mother being here. Needless to say, her return was quite a welcome surprise, and a great celebration was held. Since then, Kya had recovered from her long stay in the prison, with any nightmares being slowly quelled, and hr physical health had greatly improved, as she now looked as well off as any other tribe member.

Pulling away, both of the Water tribe members noticed two elders standing behind them. One was Kanna, their gran-gran, and Kya's mother, the other was Master Pakku, now their Grandfather after marrying Kanna 2 years back. As the Waterbending master embraced his two grandchildren, he noticed Toph, who he recognized from a few times before, including back at the white lotus camp before Sozin;s comet, and one other man, heavily scarred and rather tall.

"Oh, who is your new companion?" Pakka asked, looking over at Alex. Katara explained: "This is Alex. We met him in Ba Sing Seh, travelling with Fire Lord Zuko's long lost mother. He helped us in peace meetings, and is quite a capable warrior." Sokka then pitched in: "Yeah, he even saved all our lives when Fire Rebels trapped us in the Fire Nation Royal Palace, the same day I proposed to Suki."

Aang then spoke: "He was the one who gathered the information needed to find the Fire Rebel HQ, where he 'stumbled' across Katara and Sokka's mother in the waterbender prison cells."

Alex grunted at this, and removed his parka hood, and said while pointing to his lower right cheek: "That day left a mark, or two, on my person. Not my most 'efficient' combat role." He then asked: "And who might you be?"

"I am Master Pakku, Katara's former waterbending master. I'm here to continue helping to rebuild this tribe, but it is soon to be finished." Alex raised an eyebrow at this, and said: "A waterbending master? Might I ask if you'd care to fight me later? I could always use a practise session."

Pakku briefly wore an indignant look, thinking [Practise?], before smirking, and saying: "Very well. But I really think you should look for an opponent closer to your fighting standard, I may be too out of your league." Alex countered quickly: "If you mean far below my league, then yes."

A resonance of ooh's ran through the crowd, as they saw an utter unknown challenge a master waterbender to a duel. At this, Alex said: "One hour from now, outside the tribe walls." Alex walked off, ignoring the looks of surprise he was getting, and instead went over to a nearby cooking fire, to warm his gloved hands. In agreement, Pakku walked off to supervise briefly some more rebuilding and construction of more igloos, while Kanna, Kya and Hakoda wandered off elsewhere. Sokka and Aang had wandered off elsewhere, and Katara and Toph had waled over to where Alex was warming his hands. Katara spoke to him:

"What are you thinking? Pakku's a real master, and he probably is still more experienced than me by a little! How are you going to stand a chance against him?"

Alex paid her no heed, and replied while continuing to stare into the fire: "Well, to answer your question, I can say three things I'll do."

He stood up, and turned to face her, smirking as he listed off on a finger for each item: "First, I have the advantage of youthful energy, strength and speed. Second, I've seen waterbending in action, so I know what I can expect. And thirdly, I have a type of bending he knows nothing about. My only concern is the amount of ice and snow around, which will make him more difficult."

An hour later, and the clan was gathered either outside the tribe walls, or on top of the walls. In a large open area, covered in ice and snow, Pakku and Alex stood opposite each other, a 15 metre gap between them. On the sidelines, the southern water tribe mainly cheered for Pakku, thinking that Alex had no bending, which was backed up by his two sheathed swords. Hakoda and the Gaang knew better though, as they had seen what Alex was capable of, and that was not even the surface of what he could do.

While Pakku removed his thick parka, leaving more breathable water tribe clothing, Alex removed his clothing also, leaving only his long sleeved tunic, pants, jacket, boots and gloves. From his supply bag, he had also removed an object, which turned out to be a collapsible helmet. Donning the helmet, Alex's face was now obscured by a black, smooth helmet, which clashed with his green, brown and yellow clothing. Looking at this, Pakku said: "Headgear won't protect you in this fight!"

Alex then spoke, his voice somehow change to a harsh, deeper tone: "It should be you who is careful in this fight." He then took a single step forwards, and as he did, black shadows seemed to crawl up his outfit like a rapid fungus. His outfit changed colour quickly, changing to a black overall colour with red trimmings here and there. Now, he was a formidable looking opponent. From the sidelines, Sokka loudly exclaimed: "It's on NOW!"

Taking up an offensive stance, Pakku drew water from behind him, and launched it towards Alex in a high speed jet. With great speed, Alex sidestepped the stream, and as Pakku sent a water whip his way, managed to duck underneath it with great agility once again. Pakku then sent a huge wave towards Alex, hoping to knock him far backwards. As it reached him, the wave seemed to explode, as it fell apart upon hitting Alex, who had barely been moved by the miniature tsunami.

Thinking quickly, Pakku thrust his hands into the ice and snow, and a line of freezing ice ran to Alex, and before he could respond, was frozen into place. At this, Pakku smirked, and lowered his arms in victory. His smile vanished as Alex began to chuckle lowly, and declared: "Bad mistake there, lowering your guard against a merely restrained foe."

Alex then thrust his hand downwards, and Pakku suddenly felt something cold and invisible wrap around his hands, pulling him backwards into the snow. In desperation, he quickly spun around, spinning a water whip as he did. This seemed to free him from the invisible grasp. Gasping in surprise, the waterbender looked over at Alex, who merely gave a quick bark of laughter, and then disappeared right before their eyes.

The crowd members screamed or yelled in shock. Only Hakoda and the Gaang seemed unsurprised by this, at least not as surprised as the rest of them. Kya and Kanna looked on concernedly, had something happened to Alex?

On the battlefield, Pakku looked around desperately, hoping Alex was not far away. He did not notice the ground grow darker behind him. Behind the waterbending master, a pool of shadows formed, and from it a dark figure quickly rose up. The crowd screamed in shock, and Pakku brought a water whip around in defence, but saw it merely slash through the figure as if it were smoke. Before he could respond, the figure grabbed Pakku by the collar, and hurled him to the floor, sending him sliding 20 feet across the icy surface. As the master came to a halt, Alex rematerialized where the dark figure stood.

"First rule of combat, expect attacks from anywhere." Pakku hurled a volley of ice shards at Alex, who then leapt up into a spiralling twist in midair, avoiding the icy projectiles easily. As he landed, he swung out with his arm in an arc, sending a wave of darkness at the Waterbending master. Quickly, Pakku summoned an ice wall in defence, which stopped the dark wave. However, during this time, Alex had gone invisible again, and struck Pakku in the side as he dismissed his ice wall. The old man rolled away, surprised at Alex's appearance.

"Second rule of combat, there is no time for honour, use any means to win a fight, no matter how underhanded." Alex thrust out his arm, and the ground around Pakku turned black, and dark tendrils shot out and bound the man's hands and feet, pulling him into a kneeling position. Alex advanced on the old man, but was soon surprised, along with the watching crowd, by Pakku's next move.

With a small flick of his hands, Pakku formed his own tendrils of water, and bound Alex's hands and feet in place. With a sudden breath, Alex's limbs were frozen in place. From his own dark bonds, Pakku smirked at the man's entrapment. However, he saw Alex continuing to struggle, shaking and straining his body against his icy restraints.

Then, tiny cracks began to form. Within seconds, Alex had ripped his right arm free of his ice trap, and had drawn one of his swords and coated it in darkness. He hit his two foot ice holds rapidly, and soon broke free of them. Now only his left arm was frozen in place. With a quick flick, Alex gagged Pakku and secured his head with another dark tendril, and soon after smashed his left hand on the icy ground, shattering the ice around his lower arm.

Free of his icy bindings, Alex looked at Pakku, and released the dark gag. Pakku then conceded: "You have won. Congratulations." With a nod of Alex's helmeted head, the dark bindings released the waterbender, who then pulled himself to his feet.

The crowd was applauding loudly, amazed at the display of new bending and how an utter unknown managed to somehow defeat one of the greatest waterbending masters of the present era. Katara, Sokka, Aang, who also led Toph, rushed forwards to congratulate their friend, who ahd by now removed his helmet and changed his clothing back, and put his parka back on.

A feast was held that night, as the southern water tribe settled underneath the starry sky. In March, the sun only barely dipped below the horizon during the night, so the nights were usually twilight mainly.

Underneath the starry sky, Hakoda and Kya indulged themselves in the stories of their children's travels with the Avatar and his companions. Apparently, Aang had been quite busy with the peace talks, though Katara was very helpful and supportive during these meetings, while Sokka rarely managed to stay awake. Toph would quite literally turn a blind eye[s] to politics, while Alex apparently passed time trying to sleep with his eyes open.

Up above, the night sky was adorned with the twinkling constellations, and the occasional shooting star, a fragment of a meteor burning up as it entered the atmosphere. At this, Alex had been reminded of the 'space earth' bracelet she had received from Sokka when he forged his first sword. He had sent a transmitted scan back to the Island Base, and had been reported that the rock was actually Iridium, an element mainly found on asteroids.

Tossing these thoughts aside, Alex gave up in watching the night sky, and headed inside to begin sleeping for morning.

During the night, had anyone been awake or looked up, they might have seen a large, bright shape descend to the earth, to land many miles away at an unusually slow pace, and then take off again. Nor would anyone have seen the small shapes it deposited in the snow plains miles from the village.

Except Alex.

Inside a built in message relay in his brain, Alex was alerted to a hazard warning message on his comms channel. He pulled out his helmet, careful not to wake anyone else in the tent, and donned the helmet, activating on-visor message text. Displayed for him to see was a simple, but highly distressing message from the Island base and the Liberator's security records:

_**Warning. Uncleared spacecraft landing in South Pole, coordinates 80 degrees south, 45 degrees west. Signature matches UIP drop ship signal.**_

_**Warning. UIP drop ship deployment of unit squad. Drop ship now en route out of atmosphere.**_

_**WARNING. UIP forces 40 miles away. Calculated ETA at current location, 12 hours.**_

Alex near swore out loud, and new he could not suddenly up and leave without explaining. He would have to hide from them if they got here, unless they could find his energy signal somehow, like his built in fusion reactor.

However, the last warning came as a complete surprise, and not because of how far away it was now.

_**WARNING. Unauthorized Dark Matter usage in Ba Sing Seh Upper ring.**_

Now Alex really was panicking. He hastily thought_: Impossible! Only me, and Norstith can use Dark Matter, and Raxler too, but he has authorization to do so. It must be Norstith, no one else I know can use Dark Matter!_

The game was really in motion now. He knew which threat he had to target first, the most immediate threat. Tomorrow, he would likely be reintroduced to modern combat.

In preparation, Alex ordered necessary equipment be dropped nearby for him to retrieve. After all, he had found a home now, and he would waste not a single ounce of firepower in order to defend it.

**28****th**** March 2900.**

**1 light year from Soilaris/New Earth. Cruiser **_**Stellar Enforcer.**_

On the cruiser's command deck, a live feedback from the probe and infantry units being dropped on the planet were being transmitted and received live on the screens. The drop ship had already dropped the first recon wave at the South pole, and would deposit teams all over the planet, about a dozen of them.

Beside the Cruiser's admiral, Trion and Sru'sky studied the images transmitted by the first wave of probe units. Their search for any ground installations would begin, and would be completed before they moved in to capture their target.

The first team would reach the nearby southern ice town within half a day, where they would hopefully uncover clues about this world, and any sightings of Alex.

**28****th**** March 2900**

**Ba Sing Seh, Upper Ring, Town plaza.**

The trap was simple, but brilliant.

As Xale and Lexa watched from the rooftops, concealed under their own cloaking fields, they gazed at the dark apparition they had conjured up. It resembled a fountain, and swirled and danced ominously in the centre of the town square.

Tales of this would rapidly spread, and people would flock from all over to see it, including one individual who would be obsessed with subduing those who created it.

Together, Xale and Lexa thought: _It's only a matter of time._

**29****th**** March 2900**

**Southern Water tribe.**

The next morning, Alex was tense beyond belief. He was completely alert, only talking when necessary, otherwise remaining silent and listening and watching intently.

Alex then walked into the chief's door, where Hakoda and Kya were gathered around a fire pit with the rest of the Gaang and their children. Alex muttered going for a quick walk, to clear his head. Without waiting for a reply, he left the hut door.

Toph looked at where Alex had just stood, concerned at his lack of his usual shyness, or even sarcasm. He had now become cold and withdrawn, tense and alert. He had grown more an more like this each day since his return from his last trip away, but today he had abruptly stopped socialization altogether.

She sighed to herself, worried that Alex had experienced something that had changed him for worse.

Out in the snowy plains, Alex used his helmet scanners to search for the drop site. He had ordered a supply drop near to the village, and he was now searching for the small crate he would find his weapons inside.

Then, as a snowy dune disappeared by a quick gust of icy wind, the buried crate was made visible. Trekking over to it, he examined the exterior, seeing no damage signs. Briefly, he looked back at the Southern Water tribe, now a good mile from where he was now.

As Alex unloaded the crate, he sadly thought that today may be when his secret is given up. Here he had found solace, a place to belong and call home, new friends who had accepted him for himself. And yet here now, he was about to reveal to them that he had lied to them.

As Alex began to strap on the familiar armour, he made sure that his tunic and pants were comfortable beneath it, and removed his jacket. As the armour strapped on, and automatically connected together, Alex felt the familiar power coarse through his body, as his on board fusion reactor raised its output to support the suit.

_They may come to hate me for lying, _thought Alex as he powered up the suit, checking the familiar and new equipment, _but I will ensure the pain of another war does not cause them grief._

Alex returned to the Southern Water tribe under cloaking. He used his dark matter to create a doppelganger identical t his un-armoured self, to interact with his friends. Meanwhile, he would stay close, and keep an eye out for the coming invaders.

As he watched his copy, he saw Toph blush and turn away from it as it walked by, yet at the same time a look of sadness and worry crossed both her face and that of Kya and Katara, who were stood nearby. At the former, Alex's eyes widened in realization. Toph liked him! He had long held feelings for her, ones which he knew were genuine feelings, and not a senseless crush. His heart, or more his emotional part of his mind, soared in jubilance, in celebration that someone had genuine, romantic feelings for him on at least one level.

However, he painfully realized that his insecurity and worry had concerned his friends and their family. He had shunned them, acted unlike himself, and more like his old self, the darker part of himself, in order to focus and plan for the upcoming conflict.

Off in the distance, a parade of footsteps was heard. Lookig around first due to his sharpened hearing, an invisible Alex looked to see the UIP scout force approaching the Southern Water tribe gates.

The regular troopers he had expected, and they had brought mainly humans, 5 exactly, in their scout party. However, his scans showed one Romulan, a 7 foot Cybertronian Femme, and a single AMP suit, with another human inside. The party was therefore 8 in total, with one of them an AMP suit driver.

Now, the villagers, began to panic, as the UIP search party quickly ran into the town centre. The Humans and Romulan, dressed in full body armour, shielded from the elements, stormed into ice huts, searching for something. Women and children screamed and ran, while warriors and waterbenders scrambled to combat these foes. As one waterbender froze one of the humans against an ice hut, the femme saw this threat, and activated her stun setting on her rifle. Bringing it to bear at a blinding speed, she fired on any waterbenders attacking her fellow troopers, immobilizing them for the next hour. One by one waterbenders fell helplessly to the floor, and as the threat level decreased, one other human trooper had gone aside to free her trapped comrade.

Katara and Pakku sent a large wave towards their foes, blasting them backwards into the village walls. However, one stun pulse penetrated the liquid wall, and struck Pakku on the shoulder, stunning him. Screaming in shock Katara ran over to heal him, but found as she ran her glowing hands over him that he was paralysed, as if a chi-blocking move had been pulled on him. She was helpless to help him. Then, another stun burst hit her in the back, which rendered her unable to help herself.

The femme stormed forwards, and projected a large 3D holographic image of Alex into the centre of the town square, over the immobilized waterbenders. She proclaimed: "We are looking for this man. Tell us if you have seen him, and we shall leave peacefully!"

In murmurs, the southern tribal people looked towards where Alex's copy stood, a look of surprise and shock on his face. Immediately, she drew up her rifle again, and fired off a burst of stun fire at him. The copy stumbled as it was hit, and fell to the floor, still. As this happened, two humans and the Romulan rushed forwards to get the body. Behind the whole group, the AMP suit stood by on guard, holding the only other bender, Aang, at gunpoint, ready to stun if need be.

They hoisted the copy to face the Cybertronian femme, who apparently was their commander. She leered into the red eyes with her own optics, an aggressive red in coloration. She then gave a click, and jerked back at Alex's body scan she did. He was not a human, he wasn't even alive.

She struck the copy around the head, sending him flying into a nearby igloo, causing it to partially collapse. She bellowed at the copy: "Where is the real Alex!" At the femme's frustration, the copy chuckled in a dark tone, and said without breaking its gaze: "Lurking among the shadows." The copy then disintegrated, and became a dark mist, blowing away in the wind like smoke, eventually disappearing.

The Femme whirled around in confusion, searching for any sign of the real Alex. She scanned the village, searching for any life signatures that belonged to anyone she could not visibly see. Her comrades nervously kept their weapons aimed generally at the crowd, hoping for any clues for if Alex was here.

Behind them, the AMP suit driver turned on his infra-red scanners, searching for any invisible foes by heat. As he searched his display screen's he failed to spot the footprints running up behind the 15 foot tall AMP suit.

Alex pulled out his newest weapon, and extended one of his swords also on the same limb. Activating the vibro and plasma settings, he thrust the blade at the suit's back.

On the ground, Katara struggled against her own body. This is exactly like how Ty Lee had once paralysed her, yet they did it much more easily. Now they had Aang too, threatening to stun him also. Initially, he had seen Aang panic at her immobilization, but once he saw she was only stunned, he somewhat became less panicked.

In front of them, the strange metal woman and her fellow soldiers searched for any signs of Alex. Behind them, the metal giant stood ominously as a guard over the seized village.

Then, the giant stumbled, and clutched its chest desperately.

As the metal woman and her men whirled around in shock, a huge column of fire and debris erupted form the metal giant's chest, as a blinding, concentrated explosion ripped it apart. The blast blew everyone off their feet or back a few feet. After the blast, the metal giant toppled onto the ice and snow, a huge hole torn through it.

Behind where the giant had stood, a black armoured figure stood. His body armour was metallic, and he wore black plating with red patterns over parts of it. His right arm held a glowing red sword, and on his upper right arm a large weapon was attached, similar to that of the metal woman's soldiers.

His other arm held a somewhat different heavy weapon, and his other hand held a second sword, which he had just finished drawing and making glow. On his head, a familiar helmet rested, bringing familiarity to an otherwise alien fighter.

As the soldiers brought their weapons to bear, Alex armed one of his lighter weapons, hidden in his wrists. He deployed it, a built in plasma rifle. On burst mode, he fired off 4 shots each at the Humans and the Romulan. Two of the humans fell, and the Romulan also fell to the floor. Another human leapt to cover, and fired back at Alex, with a full automatic burst.

As the plasma rounds hit, Alex stumbled only an inch or so, hurt mainly by the impact of the shots, while the plasma merely burnt the armour slightly. Off to the side, Alex saw the femme running up to him, drawing what looked like a set of whips from her sides, while firing plasma bursts from shoulder mounted launchers. Alex pulled around, and brought his second light weapon to bear. Before she could strike him, he fired.

The southern water tribe leapt out of the way as the femme landed roughly in a large igloo, smoke rising from her chest from the grenade launcher round. Off to the side, the Romulan fired off his own grenade launcher. The dark figure heard it coming, and summoned a dark tendril to hurl the grenade far into the air, to detonate harmlessly a hundred feet up. Before it detonated, Alex seized the Romulan in a dark tendril, the black extension chocking the Romulan. Bringing him closer, Alex demanded in a voice dripping with malice: "Who are your commanding officers?"

The Romulan managed to choke out: "Y-You should kn-know them well. They used to be your friends once, before you betrayed us." At the last insult, Alex wrenched off the Romulan's helmet. The villagers visibly were shocked by the face, with the tattoos and pointed ears. He threw the Romulan to the snowy floor, and thrust one of his plasma swords through his head, instantly killing the Romulan. He withdrew the blade, and muttered to the corpse: "Then they probably told you I never spare anyone."

The villagers stared shocked at the scene, and the children ran to their parents, scared of what was happening. A scream from behind him from the crowd warned Alex, and he turned to see the femme lung at him, fist raised for a massive punch. Alex threw his hands around to meet her, and he caught her fist in his left hand. She threw her other fist around at his head, but he caught it too. The two combatants stayed locked in this position, each using their mechanical strength to overpower each other.

With diversion of power to his arms, Alex began to overpower the femme. He bent her wrist servos beyond their normal limit, causing her to emit a metallic shriek of pain. With a quick twist, he snapped both of her servos off, and she fell to the floor in agony as metal and energon poured on the floor.

She stared up into the masked head, and saw her end. He spoke now not to her, but to the camera he knew she carried: "I've been waiting for this day my whole life. I know you are watching this through her on board sensors, so know this. I never regretted what I did. So come an find me, in the largest city on this world. There, you'll see me choke the life out of the both of you. For now though, you may want to pick up the mess I'm about to finish making here."

He raised his wrist plasma rifle, and fired a burst into the femme's head. Her processor was immediately destroyed.

Disregarding the horror etched on everyone else's faces, Alex activated his turbofan pack, and took off at full speed, the electric air motors roaring as he took off at speeds never seen before on this world. He now had no time for secrecy, for the dark matter situation in Ba Sing Seh, and the surely arriving UIP forces, were more immediate concerns.

An hour passed since Alex's abrupt departure. Since then, Katara, Pakku and the other Waterbenders had recovered from their stun treatment, though were still slightly weakened. Mercifully, no one was hurt in the fight, other than those soldiers, metal woman and the giant.

Aang looked over at the carnage Alex had caused. No one was left alive, and it had all been brutal and unnecessary. Behind him, Toph stared blankly into space, off in her own world of thoughts of hurt and confusion.

_Why did these people come for Alex? And why did he react so violently to them?_

At this, Aang declared to his friends: "We have to go after him! We need to know answers before another incident like this occurs!"

Sokka agreed, and said: "He said to find him in the largest city, definitely Ba Sing Seh. We need to get there fast!"

Sokka and Katara then ran to their parents, hugging them. Pulling, the four ran to Appa, with Sokka guiding Toph, and quickly climbed aboard. The flying bison groaned, and took off at full speed.

It would take them 6 days to reach Ba Sing Seh with only brief stops, and time was already hard pressed.

**3****rd**** April March 2900**

Alex approached the walled city at full speed, flying at about 180 miles an hour, Alex's cruising speed with his turbofan pack and a deployed set of wings he had formed from dark matter. He had had to make brief stops along the way for sleep and supplies, but he was well within the time he needed to get to Ba Sing Seh.

The journey from the South Pole had taken 3 days, and with the time difference between the South Water Tribe and the city, Alex had arrived at the walled city within 4 days time of leaving. In that time Alex had sent out coded to his forces to prepare for battle. The island base would deploy all available forces, after which it would deploy its own cloaking fields, to ensure it stayed hidden from scanners and visual view.

By now, the group of regular troopers should have infiltrated the city, and would meet him in the Upper Ring, near where the Dark Matter activity was detected. The larger force would stay in their transports, ready for deployment at a moment's notice.

On his helmet HUD, a magnified video image of the dark matter activity was displayed. A swirling fountain of dark matter, obviously controlled, and by quite a trained person too.

_It must be Norstith._

Alex began descending towards the lower ring of the city, where he would land and trek into the city on foot to remain hidden. He was going in and he would find any hostiles who had obviously come here for him, and wipe them from existence with an onslaught of high energy fire.


	16. Chapter 16

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 16: Dark Servants and landing.**

**6****th**** April 2900. Ba Sing Seh, Upper ring, eastern town plaza.**

In the town plaza, a large crowd gathered around the majestic, yet somewhat ominous display. The dark vapour writhed and swirled like smoke, and fell to the floor like water. It was truly a sight to behold.

To one nearby, it was a sign of his past following him.

In his disguise, Alex looked at the display, trying to locate Norstith nearby. Over his armour, he wore a brown travelling cloak, with the hood pulled over to mask his face. He had also stolen and eye-patch and dirtied up his face to complete his disguise. He now blended into the crowd, though they were turned away by what appeared to be a hobo. His story: he was a lower ring citizen coming in for a job interview for a local merchant.

He had waited in local inns, making his way through the surprisingly large city within 3 days, and had then come to the dark matter site. His forces were stationed all over the place, ready for any forces either Norstith or the UIP would bring. He was taking no chances.

Stepping through the gathered crowd, Alex approached the dark fountain, mentally checking his armour's sensors for warnings or other dark matter detections. The crowd whispered in hushed tones, and against what was considered better judgement, Alex thrust his hand into the dark fountain.

To everyone's shock, the dark fountain collapsed, falling to the floor in a dark puddle, a significant amount of it collecting around Alex's now outstretched hand. Suddenly, warnings went off in Alex's helmet, the HUD showing detections of not 1, but 2 dark matter cloaked individuals nearby. In declaration, he called out loud: "Don't try to hide! I can find you easily now that this petty display is disabled!"

A pair of individuals landed on either side of Alex, still invisible. Commanding the dark matter, Alex knew he could only alter the dark matter's colouration whilst it was controlled by another. He concentrated, and the cloaking of both dark warriors was dropped. The crowds recoiled or screamed in surprise, as two masked warriors suddenly appeared form thin air, sporting smooth black helmets, and black organic bodysuits, the slightly larger with red patterns, the other with white.

In surprise, Alex whipped off his cloak, exposing his imposing body armour and his own masked head. He turned to the crowd, and raised a small, fiery wall of darkness against them, and yelled: "Leave us!" In a frenzy, the crowd ran off in all directions, leaving the three of them together.

After a few tense seconds, the first figure, in black and red, spoke. His voice gave away that he was male, as did his body shape. His voice was as slick as oil, and dark as an endless abyss: "Isn't this a pleasant reunion? Three people, the originating from the same source, finally together to meet."

Turning to face the male, Alex pointed one of his swords at the female, and questioned harshly to him: "Who are you? And how do you know how to use dark matter?"

The male laughed loudly, and said: "Isn't it obvious idiot? You and the both of us were trained by the same master." Alex then realized and remembered, one of the reasons he left, training other apprentices without him knowing, to replace him should he fail. Drawing his other sword, he pointed it at the male: "YOU! You two were trained to replace me should I fail to meet Norstith's expectations!"

The female then spoke, in a more feminine, and les harsh voice: "Oh no. The situation is much more complex than that. We've been sent to bring you back to Norstith."

"And I must say our master is not at all pleased at one of his former pupils abandoning him and stealing much KI equipment too. Who knows what punishment he might install upon you, when we defeat you and bring you in."

At the male's last phrase, both he and the female drew their own twin swords, activating the vibro and plasma settings also. As they summoned a large load of Dark matter to each of their command, Alex began to immerse himself in his feeling of suppressed rage and betrayal.

Letting go of all moral attachment, Alex activated his own swords' vibro and plasma settings, and summoned a coating of dark matter to his swords and hands. He then declared: "Perhaps your master should have been wise to not waste perfectly good apprentices by sending them on a suicide mission."

The male and female then sent a wave of dark matter from both sides, which Alex quickly raised a shield against. As he charged his own dark matter attack, he saw both lunge at him, swords extended for combat. In predatory eagerness, Alex's blades crossed with that of both of them, their plasma coatings colliding against one another, locking into place.

All three stood still momentarily, before Alex leapt away, and fired his charged attack at them. Both received and blocked it, and leapt at Alex once more.

Blade and plasma met, and the fight fully commenced.

**Solaris, New Earth orbit.**

In orbit, the battleship Liberator hung idle in orbit, its weapons fixed on the orbiting forces. Once the UIP had dropped out into real space, they were panicked to see a battleship, accompanied by a fleet of 2 cruisers, 4 destroyers and 4 corvettes. Before they could raise shields though, a message appeared on their screens.

Because the UIP were outmatched in orbital firepower, Alex had commanded the space fleet to stay merely as watchdogs. He wanted orbital intervention only if needed. The text message to the UIP lead cruiser had been that no fire would come from the defending fleet, and only in the atmosphere would they engage the UIP forces. For the sake of lasting in this fight, since they were outgunned in space, the UIP accepted these strange terms, and had by now deployed a shuttle force to land in the capital city.

Trion and Sru'sky would lead a large part of the ground forces, in joint command by a group of distinguished commanders in the UIP forces. Two of the other commanders were both Cybertronians, the only other two on the fleet besides Trion and the late femme who had gone to scout ahead at the south pole. One would command ground forces, the other any aerial assaults.

One shuttle would peel off from the main force to retrieve the bodies of those in the southern recon party. The locals there would be peacefully kept away from the bodies, and would be made to understand that they were only here for the bodies.

The rest would continue onto the capital city, where Alex was apparently waiting for them. Even though it was probably a trap, they would likely have no better opportunity to capture or kill him. They could not afford to turn it down, not for the sake of all those he killed or made suffer.

**Ba Sing Seh, upper ring.**

An exhausted Appa landed roughly nearby the jasmine dragon tea shop, collapsing on the ground without any concern fro his passengers. His load disembarked, and Aang walked over to his head, and patted the sky bison: "Thanks buddy. Two days non stop wasn't easy, have a long rest here."

At this point, Iroh ran out of the tea shop, and greeted them: "Hello Aang. It is a great surprise to-"

"No time! Have you seen Alex anywhere? He was ambushed at the South pole two days ago, and he killed all of them!" Iroh was taken aback by Toph's tension, and merely said: "No, I have not seen him at all. But there is something big going on in a town square a half mile away, a fountain of pure darkness apparently. I was going to head over in a few minutes, but then I heard it had disappeared."

Katara yelled: "That Dark fountain must be Alex! Let's go!" The rest of them followed, with Iroh now added to their group. The comfort of having an elderly, but no less powerful firebender in their group was a comfort indeed.

Within minutes they were running towards the town square, but stopped briefly when they saw an ominous sight. Shadows and black flames were roaring and twisting inside the courtyards, in an aggressive manner. Sokka broke into a run, and called out: "He's in a fight with someone!"

They ran up to the courtyard, and came across a truly awe-inspiring sight.

As they came in, a dark figure in a black and red organic body suit clashed with Alex, still in his armour. Off to his other side, another figure, black and white organic body suit, clashed also with Alex. Dark flames and tendrils flashed and writhed everywhere, blocking and striking at any opportune moment. Swords also clashed, their metal edges colliding frequently, and being swung at speeds and in styles unseen before.

Roaring with rage, Alex leapt into the air and unleashed an inverted spinning attack, swords and dark matter swirling in a lethal tornado. The two blocked and parried with blades and darkness, but were pushed back the power in the move. Not ceasing, Alex charged his railgun, and loaded a 'special' sort of warhead, one of 4 he carried. Bringing it to bear on the female, he pulled to fire. At the last moment, a dark tendril seized his arm and caused him to miss.

At least, directly.

The round, about 2 centimetres wide, flew past Lexa's helmet at mach 4, and headed for the building 100 metres behind her. The round pierced the stone walls, shattering once it had travelled a good 5 feet into the structure. Then, its warhead detonated. The warhead was actually a durable, extremely small canister of antimatter, carrying 10 micrograms of antimatter, or 400 pounds dynamite equivalent explosives.

Within milliseconds of the railgun firing, the building off to the side of the square was obliterated, as a blinding explosion tore apart its structure and foundations. Luckily the residents surrounding a large area of the square had fled to avoid the crossfire, and as such, only those present were affected by the blast.

As the blast blew them away, the Gaang tumbled and were blown into another building in their street, and the sheer explosive noise left a ringing in their ears for a few seconds afterwards. Sokka, Katara, Iroh and Aang all looked on in shock, as the building had been utterly annihilated [literally] by the explosion, which had all been created by Alex's weapon. Toph, though not seeing the destruction herself, had heard the weapon and had felt the power behind it, and was equally fearful of that power now.

In the meantime, Alex, having been knocked by Xale before firing, had lost his composure, and had too been blown back by the blast. Xale was also blown back, as he was now scrambling back to his feet, to face a no longer stumbling Alex. Lexa was still on the ground, having taken the most of the blast damage, but only being temporarily disoriented.

In anger at his sister's current state of injury, Xale launched a massive wall of darkness at Alex, who only just managed to form a protective shield in time. Knocked back into the centre of the square, Alex regained his posture, pointing a sword at each fighter. By this time, Lexa had gotten to her feet, and was now less willing to hold back against him.

Alex unfurled his helmet, to talk to each of them face to face. He barked at them: "Your being here is useless! You are just tools of Norstith! He will soon replace you with other apprentices, as he used you two against me! I left to not be a slave to his orders!"

Xale then said as a retort: "What of your desire to do whatever it took to do what's right? Is that not why you joined Norstith two years ago? You accomplished so much for the Knight Initiative in such a short time, all for the greater good!"

Alex's face contorted slightly, as dark memories resurfaced. He bellowed: "I see no good in mass killings, assassinations, torture and kidnapping! I wasn't fighting for justice, I was fighting for reasons other than my own! NORSTITH IS USING BOTH OF YOU!"

Lexa then let loose a sharp tongued comment: "We were made to ensure you legacy lived on. We were made to also bring you in should you run away, as you have."

Alex looked puzzled, and asked: "Made? What do you mean?"

Lexa unfurled her mask, revealing medium length black hair, and golden eyes, and pale white skin. She spoke in a surprisingly soft voice, though it was laced with aggression though: "You really think you were the only clone project that Norstith created when he brought you back to life? Me and Xale-." She gestured to the male: "-were made alongside you, and we are a part of you, whether you like it or not, and we always will be."

"NO! I don't believe you, either of yo-" Alex was cut off when he looked at Xale, who had unfurled his mask. With Xale and Alex sideways to the Gaang, they saw only part of Xale's face. He had jet black hair, like Lexa, and the same golden eyes and pale skin, obviously shared traits of twins. Yet on Xale, the source was made obvious. Other than the hair colour and eye colour, Alex found himself looking in a mirror when he saw Xale. Only the burn scar Alex had procured was missing, and surely the arrow wound on the right arm would also be missing. Otherwise, the body shape was the same, the height and the older scars.

A quick DNA scan from Alex's helmet showed that Xale was almost perfectly genetically identical to Alex, aside from the hair and eye colour. Strangely, Lexa was genetically identical to Xale, aside from gender difference. These two dark warriors, who Norstith had recruited, or created, were Alex's clones.

Alex froze in shock, unable to speak or comprehend the gravity of the existence of these two. He then demanded: "WHO ARE YOU?"

Xale smirked, and said; "We are your copies. We are almost exactly physically identical to you in every way, with a few 'alterations'. As Lexa already pointed out, we literally exist to carry on your legacy. You should be humbled about such devotion by our Master and creator, to preserving the memories of you accomplishments through us."

Alex mentally snapped, and reformed his helmet, and said: "I vowed to destroy any remnants of my monstrous past. And if both of you exist to maintain my past, then I will destroy both of you to fulfil my desire for a fresh start!"

Alex charged his swords, coating them in dark matter. Xale and Lexa exchanged brief glances, and reformed their own helmets. Before he could fire or attack, and before either Xale or Lexa could move to defend, a blast of air blew like a cyclone through the square. Shielding themselves against the sudden gust, the three dark warriors looked over at the Avatar and his friends.

Looking at the three dark warriors, Aang stared in disbelief, comprehending what he had heard. These three were connected, by blood and past, and had committed such monstrous acts, which for some reason had gone unnoticed to him.

Katara and Sokka looked at Alex, who stood out by his metallic armour, rather than Xale and Lexa's organic armour. A mere two days ago, Alex had been ambushed at their home, but had mercilessly slaughtered them all, and declared to unseen superiors to come and find him here. Were these them?

Iroh looked at the three before him, noting the harshness and aggression behind their stances and previous fighting. In their speech, he had detected a hint of hurt, pain and remorse in Alex's voice, which was partially mirrored in the female's voice, but devoid in the male's. Overshadowing this internal pain in all three though, was a malice and anger that could only be created from a harsh upbringing, or a bad past.

Toph felt through earthbending, feeling the heartbeats of the other two, but also detecting Alex's lack of a heartbeat. What hurt her was the way he had suddenly taken off, how in his brutality he had become a changed person. He was not normally like this, and even in the war, during uprisings and the major rebellion, she had never witnessed such brutality from any one person.

The standoff lasted a few tense seconds. The Gaang looked between each fighter, and it was Sokka who spoke first: "What's going on here? These two know you somehow? What weren't you telling us!"

Xale laughed, and unfurled his helmet, revealing his shockingly familiar face to them all. He then spoke, while looking over at Alex, who's mask hid his facial expression: "Isn't it apparent? The true Alex has been hidden from all of you during his entire stay here. By the sound of it, he wanted a fresh start, and fashioned a new life story from scratch. He lied to all of you."

They all looked at Alex now, who hung his helmeted head partly in shame. Xale cackled in amusement, and pressed on: "You really want to know who he is? He's an assassin, a fighter for the Knight Initiative, and he has committed acts in the name of true justice that would repulse anyone who would know the full story."

Lexa chimed in: "Mass murder, kidnapping, torture, public executions, and even killing the leader of a massive government as a part of it, in front of hundreds of thousands of people."

Iroh then asked: "But how could such things go unnoticed in the world?"

Alex then spoke harshly: "Because they all happened outside of this world!"

At this, they all faced Alex, who spoke without a fibre of regret or sadness in his voice, only aggravation or rage: "You really think this is the only world with civilization on it? There are thousands of worlds out there, where dozens of different races of people exist together in peace or conflict! There are governments ruling over them, and guess what? They are at war with one another, in a war which has already cost millions of lives!"

He then jabbed a thumb at himself: "I once fought for one side, a side I once believed in! But they turned against me, abandoned me when I needed them to help me escape imprisonment. That was when I turned to the Knight Initiative, to help both sides see the futility of war, by making the costs of fighting so severe that both would surrender and stop fighting! So I took part in mass killings, kidnappings, torture and all out terrorism against both sides! I lost any friendships I once had once I was found out, and then the worst thing of all came!"

Alex unfolded part of his armour, showing his bare right shoulder: "I was confronted by my former friends, who viewed me as a monster for my acts, despite the overall good they did! They maimed me and left me to die, and I almost did! Had it not been for Norstith's intervention, I would have perished! He healed me, trained me, gave me power beyond anything I ever dreamed, enough power to sate my lust for vengeance on those who wronged me!"

Alex's body began to shimmer with dark matter, and his mask refolded: "I hunted down one friend, and hurt her to the brink of death. She still lives, but only just. And when I finished with her, my hunger was not fully sated. Yet, her screams of agony were like a symphony to my ears. But it wasn't enough for me. My next task afterwards was to torture the physical goddess of one race, and while I did it, my other friends were there, along with my parents. My father was foolish enough to try to stop me, so I killed him."

Xale then interrupted: "But then after that you began to lose confidence, you eventually came to see yourself as a slave to Norstith, and then abandoned the known worlds with a large fleet for yourself. The Master was not at all pleased with this, he was angered by your betrayal, yet saddened by the fact eh lost you, who he had come to view as a son."

Alex then whirled to face Xale, and engulfed the dark apprentice in a dark coil, constricting his body, and said in a malice-laced whisper for all to hear: "By being loyal to that 'father figure', I lost my real father figure, who took me in after my real father was killed! He will never be a father figure to me again!"

Before Alex could tighten his dark vice, he was struck in the side by a rock, and he went tumbling off to the side. Scrambling to his feet, he saw Toph standing in an earthbending position, and another rock held by her other fist. She had tears of hurt in her eyes, and she asked: "Why did you lie to us?"

Shamefully, Alex looked at the ground, and said: "Because I came here for a fresh start, a clean slate. I also did not believe you would believe me if I told you myself."

Suddenly, Alex looked up at the sky, and he said in a mildly panicking voice: "Go now, all of you! This battle between us three, and the conflict between me and the invaders, is not your fight, it is my own! Leave this city, before the destruction becomes too severe!"

"NO! We are not leaving until we fully understand what you've hidden from us!" Aang yelled, while Iroh, Sokka and Katara looked at Alex, hurt and concern in their eyes. At this, Alex looked at Xale and Lexa, and then said to all present: "I am serious! The fight between us three will be nothing compared to the fight that will break out when the UIP invaders arrive in half an hour! You must leave if you are to survive!"

As he finished, Xale and Lexa launched dark tendrils, which seized Alex around the waist and legs, sending him to the ground. Lexa then said: "Our fight is not finished. We are to capture you alive, preferably, and bring you to Norstith!" Alex then bellowed at her: "LOOK! If we do not postpone the fight, then we will be captured or killed by the invaders! If any of us are to get away and continue, we must put this fight on hold, it is getting us nowhere!"

Xale looked at him, and asked: "Why? What could possibly be coming with the UIP forces that has you so worried?"

"Not only are Sru'sky and Trion leading the assault, but the mechs known as Barricade and Starscream are also leading!"

The dark tendrils suddenly released Alex, who quickly got up to his feet, and scanned the sky desperately. Xale muttered: "Oh shit." Lexa then screamed: "Brother, we have to get to safety!" Xale nodded, and said: "Split up for now, go anywhere! I'll meet you up!"

She nodded, and launched herself in a dark jet, and then activated a built in turbofan pack, cloaked herself and flew off westwards at great speed. Xale turned to face Alex, and said: "We'll meet again Alex, I'll ensure that." Alex waved him off impatiently, and shouted: "Whatever, I've got much bigger foes to worry about."

Xale then took off himself, but headed north instead, towards the earth king's palace. Now it was only the Gaang and Alex in the square, the latter of whom was quickly relaying orders to his hidden forces across the city. After he finished, he unfurled his helmet, and faced the group.

As he turned, Alex noticed a distant object pop out of the gathering cloud cover of a coming thunderstorm, something fast, very fast. His eyes widened, but he was momentarily distracted as Katara asked him: "Is it true? Did you really do all those things they said?"

Alex looked her hard in the eyes, and then flickered to Toph once more, as if remembering her face one last time. He then responded gravely: "My decisions were my own, and I bitterly regret most of them now that I look back. I was consumed by rage and anger, and I lost my identity because of it."

Toph stepped towards him slightly, and at this, Alex looked up: "I never wanted any of this to happen. I came here for a fresh start, a group of friends who I could trust and confide in as I used to with my former friends. You all gave me a chance to live again, as myself, not as the monster I've become known as out there."

Alex turned to face the approaching object, and said: "But now I see that my past deeds cannot be simply ignored. I am going to stand my ground here today, I will not be made a prisoner." He then looked at Toph, her milky green eyes locked with his sadly. He then stepped towards her slowly, and confessed: "If I do die today, I will never forgive myself if I do not get this off my chest." He got onto his knees, and said: "Toph, out of all the friends I have ever had, none have come close to having the amount of love I feel for you. I love you Toph, and even if you reject me for who I am, I always will."

Toph began to cry now, and Katara came over and comforted her with a hug, while never once taking her sight away from Alex. Suddenly, Alex began to panic: "Oh shit, he's early! You have to leave now!"

As he said this, a roar sounded overhead, as a sleek fighter flew past them at high speed. The forward swept wings and twin tailfins gave the craft an intimidating appearance. On the ground, Alex reformed his mask, while Toph broke from her crying to join the Gaang in defensive postures. Overhead, the fighter banked hard, and now approached the square at a high speed. As it crossed the edge of the square, opposite the side they were on, the fighter split apart at multiple areas, and as it fell from the sky, parts shifted and reconfigured at blinding speeds. Within a second, the fighter had slammed to the ground, on two feet, and had transformed into a 30 foot tall figure.

With a wide upper body, almost triangular in shape, and bent legs like an eagle, and a helmeted head, the figure was imposing. On its arms, missile launchers and cannons were armed and ready.

As it hit the ground, the figure skidded to a halt on its two feet, bringing its right arm, the cannon bearing one, to face Alex. It stopped 40 feet from Alex, and pointed the cannon arm at him. Behind Alex, the Gaang stumbled backwards, and Toph, not knowing what this was, retreated with them.

The figure glared at Alex with red optics, and a few clicks and buzzes sounded in its native tongue. Then, it spoke, in a raspy voice: "Well, well, I came here a few minutes ahead to scout out the landing site, and I manage to find the target already. For someone of your reputation, I expected a better effort to hide."

Alex armed his own weapons, and retorted with no fear: "You're one to talk Starscream. What's a military scientist, and former decepticon, doing on a mission to hunt me down?" Starscream replied: "I was requested of my services for this mission, to help capture you, and to also examine this unique human civilization, which was somehow disconnected from the true human influence."

The former decepticon then brought his heavy laser cannon closer to Alex, and whispered: "But my primary goal is to bring you in, alive." Alex stood his ground, and noticed something briefly behind the mech, and then returned his gaze.

Behind him, Sokka, Katara, Aang, Toph and Iroh all stood back, not knowing how powerful this colossal being was. It could easily crush them underfoot. And yet, Alex was standing against it, unhindered by the extreme danger. This was one thing Toph admired about Alex, his unwavering courage, bravery, and sometimes recklessness. This giant, the one called Starscream, was the leader of an upcoming attack apparently.

Back with the red eyed mech, and the red eyed human, Alex stated: "Tell me Starscream, from one former killer to another, do you know of how critical total awareness of your surrounding is in battle?"

"What do you mean by that, human?" The mech hissed, pressing his cannon barrel closer to the boy's face. Alex tilted his helmeted head sideways slightly, and said: "Look behind you."

Starscream turned to face the pointed out object, his laser arm not once leaving its aim on Alex. He turned around, and saw a platoon of heavy robot troopers standing in one street, weapons all trained on him.

Two things then happened.

First, as Starscream was distracted, Alex summoned a massive dark tendril, and coiled it around Starscream's laser arm, and constricted it hard. The laser cannon was left intact, but Starscream's hand servos were damaged and bent, stopping him using them. Energon leaked out of the small cracks formed, and the mech screeched in pain, a sound which caused the Gaang to plug their ears in pain. Simultaneously, the platoon opened fire, riddling the mech with plasma fire and grenade volleys. Explosions caused the mech to spasm and writhe, as Starscream stumbled around in pain.

As the mech stumbled towards the platoon, Alex yelled to them: "Alert the rest of the forces, we move NOW!" He then turned to the Gaang: "I can't stop you from fighting, but I will promise you this, I will never forgive myself if any of you are killed in the crossfire. Now get to safety, away from the upper walls! Head for the palace, that's an untargeted area!"

They all looked at him, and back at Starscream, who was now beginning to mow down the troopers with his laser cannon. Seeing the potential destruction this battle would cause, they all began to run now. Alex ran alongside them, and he briefly stopped Toph for a moment, grabbing her. She turned to face him, fear in her eyes. Looking into them, Alex pulled her into a hug: "Stay safe. If this is the last time I meet you, just let it be known I will always love you."

Unfurling his helmet, Alex leant down and kissed Toph on the cheek quickly, before running off into another street, cloaking himself as he went. He left Toph alone, who stood there, stunned for her returned love, but quickly ran to catch up with her friends.

In the town square, Starscream had finished destroying all of the heavy trooper units, and now searched for Alex. However, he had escaped, and his signature was missing, likely masked somehow. In frustration, Starscream screeched, and then leapt into the air, transforming as he did so, and took off at full speed, ready to join the landing force as they came down. As he flew to rejoin the orbiting UIP fleet, Starscream thought:

_Trion and Sru'sky were correct in not underestimating the boy. He is more capable and reinforced then we anticipated. This is going to be interesting._

Down in the city streets, Lexa had flown 3 miles now, and had landed in an abandoned alley, to hide out until the fighting started, and so she could wait for Xale to contact her again.

Elsewhere, Xale landed atop the palace roof, and took shelter inside an rooftop battlement, hiding himself from orbital camera view. He would survey the battle from here, to make his next move before regrouping with Lexa.

Alex had met up with a secret group of forces inside a group of abandoned warehouses. In places like these all around the upper ring, Alex had had heavier equipment and troopers stored for use today. And here, he kept the pinnacle of his personal equipment.

On the island base, Raxler boarded his own personal fighter craft, and took off at full speed, under cloaking, ready to assist his maker in his battle at Ba Sing Seh.

In orbit, the UIP began ferrying shuttles down into orbit, ready to invade the capital city and wipe out Alex's forces, and take him as prisoner.

At the same time, the KI forces Alex had rallied were deploying their own forces, dropping them in drop ships, or directly from the hangers of the battleship and cruisers. Meanwhile, the heavy lasers and missile launchers aboard the Liberator, and its fleet, turned to lock onto the UIP fleet.

If the UIP were going all out, then Alex would do all he could to prevent more from landing. The battleship, cruisers and destroyers opened fire on the landing craft, aiming to minimize the amount of forces the UIP landed.

Within a minute, the UIP were returning fire, aiming to knock out the defence fleet's weapon hardpoints, to allow easier landings.

Now the battle had gotten underway in orbit, all that remained was for the aerial battle and ground battle to unfold.

Hey readers [yes, I know you are out there somewhere]. This story will be longer than its prequel, and for the sake of crossover, I assumed Starscream and Barricade had survived to the end of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict.[In my story's universe, it ended circa 2300-2400].


	17. Chapter 17

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 17: War and chaos.**

**6****th**** April 2900. Ba Sing Seh, Upper/Mid ring border.**

Within 3 hours, the city had come under attack once more.

Bursting through the thunderstorm clouds covering the sprawling mega-city, 12 UIP transports screamed to the city level, grouping together to find safe places to land. As they drew closer, they flew towards the upper ring at unprecedented speeds on this world.

On the walls, General Xiu ordered his troops to ready to fire, knowing full well an aggressive force like this, even if unprecedented in its method, was attacking. He signalled to his men along the section of the wall to ready, then closed his fist in an order to open fire.

At Xiu's command, massive boulders were launched into the air, and trails of dust followed them in their path. They screamed towards the low flying transports, but uselessly missed each one, as it was moving too fast. However, one boulder hit its mark, and headed right for the control cabin of one transport.

As it hit, to General Xiu's disbelief, the boulder crumbled in an explosion of dust and debris, while the craft merely spun out of control, undamaged. Along its surface, a faint blue ripple spread from where the boulder hit. For a few seconds the craft spun, but it quickly corrected its course, and caught up with the other transports.

As the vessels flew 200 metres above the wall, which rose 500 metres into the air, the soldiers continued firing boulders at the vessels, all to get the same lack of damage and temporary steering loss. Their attacks were useless against these vehicles.

In the city's depths, Alex gave the order on his helmet's comms network: "Open fire on the transports."

In the city depths, hidden troopers climbed to the rooftops, and aimed any weapon they had at the transport flight. Plasma rifles, shoulder-missile launchers, built in railguns, the whole lot. Alongside, Alex had landed a relatively large group of custom AMP suits, who now opened fire with their greater weaponry. And finally, a flight of attack and spacecraft, based outside the city's northern border, screamed towards the battlefield, ready to install air power to this fight.

Then, in the distance, more UIP transports appeared from the clouds, along with an entire wing of fighter escorts and even a few bombers. Nevertheless, Alex's orders remained unchanged.

They took aim, and opened fire.

In the Jasmine Dragon, the Gaang could see the firefight unfold with their own eyes.

They had retreated here to make a next plan in this fight, when they had seen the transports appear over the inner wall edge. Vaguely, they could see that the vessels were between 40 and 60 metres long, and were fast.

Suddenly, from the north, streaks of smoke and flashes of highly intense light flew towards the transports. As they impacted, explosions rocked and consumed the craft, managing to overwhelm the shields with their highly energetic firepower. Of the twelve transports, 1 was destroyed, now falling slowly in a controlled crash.

Suddenly, sleek craft flew rapidly overhead, who bore a similar shape to the craft that Starscream could take the form of. As they passed, a loud boom was heard, echoing and rumbling in the city like explosions in their own right.

Iroh looked back at the area nearer the earth kingdom palace, and saw smoke already rising from different locations, and the strange lights flashing among the destruction.

All of a sudden, a rumbling sounded nearby, and Iroh turned to see the other four poised at the ready, all in combat positions, as another transport was landing in the courtyard behind the Jasmine Dragon.

Aang yelled over the noise: "We have to make a stand if they're here to fight!" The rest barely acknowledged this, as they watched in awe as the mighty craft landed on the courtyard, its landing wheels supporting its weight. A descent ramp deployed, and from it armoured troopers and metal giants, similar to those at the South Pole ambush, ran out.

About 50 soldiers ran out, along with 6 AMP suits. Among the soliders were some differing shaped people. Some were quite tall, and had blue skin with tails and long hair braids. Others had faces like those of an insect, but with reptilian features, while others had large eyes, or small bodies and grey skin. The only vaguely familiar ones would be the humans, who seemed to be slightly more numerous than the other races.

Taking the initiative, Aang airbent himself into the path of the advancing force, and thrust his staff out, demanding: "Why are you here?"

He lead solider came up to him, a human with pointed ears, no eyebrow and tattooed skin [Romulan], and shoved Aang out of the way, saying: "We're just here to pick up a wanted convict. He's responsible for reprehensible acts across our worlds, so stay out of our way kid!"

Suddenly, the ground beneath them all caved in, and the soldiers and AMP suits began digging themselves out of the ruined ground. Near the tea shop, Toph stood in an earthbending posture, and said: "We won't let you harm him!" She thrust her fists out, and the force was ploughed backwards a hundred metres. As they recovered, Toph bellowed: "We have to find Alex! We have to help him!"

The rest of them stood unsure, and Toph looked at them all in surprise, and yelled: "C'mon! He was sad that he had to do all those things and chose to leave! If he wasn't, he wouldn't have come here in the first place, would've he!"

Sokka smashed his fist into his hand, and declared: "Your right! Alex has helped us many times now, its time we helped him however we can!"

Iroh looked to the columns of smoke rising from the cityscape, ignoring the pain he felt over the city being at war again so soon. He then realized: "Alex was one to throw himself into the thick of battle, so-." He pointed them towards the smoke: "Head to the place of greatest destruction, and we shall find him!"

Agreeing on this, they took off at full speed, as Toph and Aang earthbent a small hill of earth to effectively 'surf' through the streets on. Passing by, they noticed that many of the upper ring citizens had fled the city, to escape the battlefield that had erupted in the upper ring.

By the fires and explosions happening, no one really wanted to be here by the look of it.

Overhead, UIP landing craft hovered and landed when possible, covered by fighters to defend against Alex's fighter force. Nearer to the centre of the south upper ring, the heart of the battle raged, where a stalemate had settled in a very large town square. Attack aircraft cut down UIP troopers on the ground, and the robotic troopers proved a match for the UIP troopers.

Charging into one smaller city square, they found a group of garrisoned soldiers attacking Alex's forces and UIP forces alike. Boulders and plasma fire flew at each other, in a deadly exchange, though it was the UIP mainly who fired on them, whilst Alex's troopers never did anything except defend against the local force.

Settling the earth hill, Toph thrust out her hands, and a brigade of UIP troopers was thrown off their feet by a concentrated earthquake, then pushed far backwards down the street by a wave of pavement. Iroh and Katara unleashed a combination of fire and waterbending on the UIP troopers, though sometimes accidentally hit Alex's forces in mistaken identity. Aang and Sokka ran over to the garrisoned troopers, as Aang called out: "STOP! One of the sides is our ally!"

The captain looked incredulously at the Avatar, and said: "They are destroying the city! We must take them out!" Sokka then pointed to the combating fronts, and gestured to Alex's side: "Those forces haven't fired back at you yet! They're fighting to protect the city from the invaders! "We know, we personally know their leader!"

Aang yelled over an explosion nearby: "You need to stop firing on their side, and help them take out the invaders!"

A lieutenant then voiced: "They're right! That side has not fired on us yet, and they've actually protected our soldiers sometimes!" The Captain looked at the battle segment, and then signalled to his men: "Spread to the other garrisons in the city, tell them the non-invaders are not to be harmed, only helped!"

Chanting acknowledgement, four troopers took off down differing streets, as the captain ordered his men to only attack the UIP forces.

On the rooftops of an apartment house block, Alex saw the change in battle through his helmet's scopes. The fact that he would now have Ba Sing Seh's garrison on his side had suddenly turned the tide in his favour. With hundreds of earthbenders, surely the UIP could not win now?

Regardless, Alex called in heavy support from orbit, not wanting to take any chances today.

In orbit, the Liberator and its accompanying fleet battled with the UIP fleet. Railgun fire, laser fire and missiles criss-crossed space, all homing in on their targets, shielded or not.

Then, from the ventral hull of the Liberator, 2 shapes detached, and began to enter the atmosphere. They were 30 metre wide spheres, and as they entered the upper atmosphere, they altered course to head for the earth kingdom capital.

On the bridge of the lead UIP cruiser, the officers reported this to forces, saying it was likely debris from the Liberator, which had already taken damage.

From the clouds, a flight of command vessels broke the overcast, and flew at full speed towards the centre of the ancient city. Among them, 2 advanced fighters and a single cargo shuttle. Within each, the fleet commanders were ready for battle.

Starscream flew at the lead, ready to attack anything that intercepted them. Trion, with Sru'sky inside, flew behind him, while the cargo vessel flew last, inside which Barricade brooded how best to track down Alex.

To Barricade, this was a textbook mission. He was a battlefield scout, an assassin and a general soldier. Even though blending in on this world was more difficult, he would manage. His red optics glinting hungrily, he transformed into his patrol vehicle form, ready to drive at full speed across the battlefield when the time came.

Finally, the flight found a landing near the centre of the battle, and set down. Starscream transformed mid flight, and began driving back the enemy forces with his lasers and missiles. Trion descended, and transformed out of his fighter frame, and into his bipedal form. He opened his chest cockpit, and allowed Sru'sky to jump out.

As soon as the shuttle opened its doors, Barricade had all but exploded onto the battlefield, driving at full speed while dodging friendly forces and destroying enemies. The local defenders, able to manipulate earth, were a credible threat, but the UIP had strict orders to not kill them if possible.

That did not stop them from stunning them.

Indeed, as Barricade roared down the streets, he saw earthbenders get gunned down by stun fire, the high energy pulses temporarily paralysing them. He himself deployed a small gun turret and shot a small number as he roared down the cobbled streets, his wheeled patrol vehicle form travelling at 80 mph.

As the others held back the defenders, Barricade had been tasked with scouting ahead to locate Alex, then call in backup if needed to subdue and capture him. The former Decepticon scout relished in the hunt, and sped off down another street, continuing his search.

**Ba Sing Seh, Earth Kingdom royal palace.**

In the centre of the massive palace plaza, Alex stood under cloaking, waiting for the arrival of his 'reinforcements'. At the same time, he waited to see if his companions had taken his wisdom to heart and would come here.

For a half hour Alex waited patiently, watching the distant explosions, fire and smoke with sadness. He had never meant to drag this world into yet another war, but he could not at the same time be made a prisoner. He had assumed the massive civilian population in the city would stop the UIP from attacking.

He had been wrong, and it was clear that they were brutally determined to get to him.

Then, directly above him, the thunderstorm clouds parted, as two large objects, fiery and smoking as they descended, slowed down to landing speed with hidden thrusters and antigrav generators. They were about 30 metres wide, and despite their slowed speed, they impacted the plaza ground, hard.

Two craters were created where they landed, and a cloud of dust erupted as the mild shockwave reached Alex. Bracing himself, he triumphantly grinned at the sight of two of his newest weapon deploying, knowing that he now could turn the tide in his favour.

In the middle of the streets, the Gaang rushed towards the Earth Kingdom palace, taking Alex's advice after convincing the garrison to help Alex's forces. As they came within 2 miles of the palace, they saw the thunderclouds open up, and two fiery meteors fell unnaturally slowly, and hit the ground hard in the palace plaza.

With a clear line of sight, all five ran towards the crash site, hoping no one was hurt. Then, Toph stopped, and placed a hand on the ground. In shock, she said: "Guys, where those two things big things landed, they're standing up."

Indeed, as Aang, Katara, Sokka and Iroh looked over, they saw the dust cloud clear, and rising from it were two colossal giants, made of dark grey and black metal. They rose up, unfurling from their previous sphere shapes, and stood up at full height. Now they stood an immense 50 metres above the ground, and as they shifted about to maintain balance, the earth shook slightly.

Below the giants, Alex stared proudly at his most destructive ground unit, which he proudly called the Behemoth, after the Jewish fabled king of the land creatures. At 50 metres, they easily outmatched any AMP suit or Cybertronian in height, and their weaponry was immense in power and variation.

But best of all, they could function independently. This was useful, and Alex did not wish to stay near these things, as they would attract too much attention and enemy fire. While the Behemoths could withstand all but heavy weapons, any friendlies near them may not survive the onslaught they get caught in.

Besides, Alex had another weapon, a more personalized, compact and mobile tool, which would put him on more even toes with even Starscream at best. He turned on his turbofan pack, and flew off south towards a small storage warehouse.

As he landed, he saw the Gaang staring at both the Behemoths, and him as he landed. Deciding he had little time, he quickly marched up to them and explained while pointing at the giants: "They're called Behemoths, they're my largest ground force unit. They're here to ensure we win the fight, and they can destroy an entire army if they want to!"

Sokka looked incredulously at him, and asked: "I may not know how it works, but isn't that overkill?" Alex walked off, and yelled back: "Hey, I'm not taking ANY chances! And besides, if you need it, and don't have it, you speak differently about it!" He stopped in front of a storage house, and yanked the doors open to reveal a covered stack of objects inside. Toph's eyes widened at what she felt, but Aang asked: "Why are you here?"

Turning around, Alex looked to see Aang looking at the warehouse. He pulled the cover off the stack, and climbed up the frame into the gap provided. To amazed eyes, he pressed the button, and the personal AMP suit, hidden beneath crates and boxes, rumbled to life. Rising up, the crates fell noisily to the side as Alex stomped past the group, and out into the street again.

The suit was slightly larger than normal at 20 feet tall, and bore black colours with red decals over it. Overall, it seemed to be an enlarged version of Alex's body armour, although the helmet was sunken into the torso much more so, more like a cockpit window instead of a helmet. On the arms, a railgun, a mini-rocket launcher, two heavy plasma cannons and two long retractable arm blades.

Sokka simply said: "Woah." as Alex flexed the suits fingers, or claws, and tested the suits legs and arms.

The giant suit turned to face the group. The black glass then seemed to change colour, to a transparent shade that gave them a view of Alex controlling the suit. Insisde, he was strapped into a harness that restricted his body movements, but used Psionic technology to fully transmit his nerve controls to the suit. Without a body to jostle around inside, this suit was able to much more precisely controlled.

It pointed a finger at them, and Alex then spoke inside, his voice electronically magnified for them to hear: "Alright, stay out of trouble, this is my fight, not yours. They're here for me, and I'm not going to let them take me away from this world without a fight." As he finished, he froze up, and the suit suddenly spun to face towards a nearby street.

Toph then yelled out in alarm: "Something's coming in fast!" As soon as she said it, they all saw it. In the distance, a fast moving vehicle turned into the street, and accelerated towards Alex at full speed.

A white and black patrol vehicle.

At a rapid pace, Alex shoved Toph, Iroh, Sokka, Katara and Aang to the wall of the warehouse, rolling them out of harm's way. He then flipped his weapons to standby, and took a defensive stance in the street. He bellowed: "BARRICADE!"

As soon as the name was yelled, the patrol vehicle deployed a hidden heavy plasma cannon, and opened fire. Plasma bolts impacted on the suits armour, scorching the surface and scratching it, otherwise not harming it. Instinctively raising the suit's arm to defend, Alex blocked the rest of the fire.

As the patrol vehicle came within 50 metres, it exploded outwards at a blinding pace, parts shifting and changing as the vehicle leapt into the air. Halfway through the aerial barrel roll, the vehicle had fully transformed into a black and white, red eyed Cybertronian, about 17 feet in height. Roaring in anger, Barricade extended his claws towards the suit before him.

The two collided in a cascade of sparks and crashing. A loud metallic crash was heard as Barricade ploughed into Alex's suit claws first, grabbing the suit like a wrestler and rolling over with it on the ground, until smashing into a nearby house. Rolling away, Barricade got up on two feet, and deployed his two mace chains, and spun them around madly. Alex leapt to the mech's feet, and deployed his suit's wrist blades in response. The two charged at one another with primal aggression.

Katara couldn't help but scream out loud as the two giants met for the second time, since the brutality of the fight was beyond anything she had seen in the war. Iroh looked on in fear, knowing that his firebending was useless against these two, and if he did, he may hit Alex by accident due to the lack of structure in the conflict. Sokka and Aang stayed wary, knowing that these two could destroy much of the area, and Toph stayed as calm as possible, the vibrations of the fight were distressing to her. Time and time again, Barricade swiped his claws and maces at Alex, sometimes scoring a hit or two, while Alex retaliated fiercely by repeatedly hacking and slashing the former Decepticon with his suit blades. One time, Alex impaled Barricade in the side of the leg, but the assassin mech knocked Alex back with a fierce punch, freeing him from the human's suit and the blade.

Finally, after 5 minutes, Alex made a bold move. Rolling away from Barricade's next swipe, he quickly climbed atop a nearby building, and leapt over Barricade from above, extending a single blade and his rocket launcher. With the suit in a frontflip, Alex fired off a single rocket, and managed to score a hit on Barricade's lower shoulder, causing the mech to stumble a bit. Landing on two feet, Alex plunged his blade towards Barricade's spark chamber.

Reacting quickly, the assassin twisted, and Alex's blade only scratched the surface of his torso armour. Grabbing the suit's 'head' in one hand, he seized the suit from below, and threw Alex over his head, into a nearby building. The structure collapsed, and Alex struggled to rise up against the assassin when he was being crushed underfoot.

As Barricade raised a mace to the suit's head, Toph and Aang launched a massive earth wave at the mech, sending the former decepticon backwards down a street. Rising to his feet, Alex fired off multiple rounds from his railgun. Some managed to score this, one being a upper leg hit, quite critical. As the last round hit, Barricade turned around and transformed in a run, the damage transferring to his vehicle form also.

Alex ran off in pursuit, his suit running at about 25mph. he left the gang behind in the dust, who promptly turned to run towards the Earth Kingdom Palace again, knowing he could handle himself. As they ran, they saw that the Behemoths had moved since then, and one was actually firing its multiple laser cannons at some targets below it.

In the cobbled streets, the UIP forces fell back in panic as a maelstrom of laser fire erupted from the 50 metre monsters. Troopers and AMP suits and light vehicles were riddled with fire, cutting down anything moving that the giant's CPU designated as hostile.

A lone Human UIP captain ducked behind a large building, and sent out a distress message: "We're pinned down! This monster's not feeling anything we shoot at it! We need heavy fire support NOW!" The ground near him exploded with laser fire, and the human continued to fall back, not even bothering to fire back at the Behemoth.

Below, the other mechanical troopers followed in the Behemoth's footsteps, and the Earth Kingdom Garrison followed close behind, some cheering the giant on to scare the invaders away. Within the nearby group, the Earth army captain the Gaang had alerted looked on in awe and relief:

_They're ruthless and destructive, but they're helping us. The lesser of two evils I guess._

Ahead, the Behemoth stepped as carefully as possible to avoid damaging buildings and property, which it almost perfectly accomplished. Almost.

A single merchant had been cowering with his cart of produce, and looked up in alarm at the Behemoth's foot, the toe plating smashing down on the stall, flattening the cart and the produce. The merchant screamed in disbelief as he crumbled in defeat:

"MY CABBAGES!"

**Upper/Mid ring wall.**

General Xiu ran for his life as he saw the monster land close by on the wall's top battlements. It had landed in a skid, ploughing stone and boulder piles aside, and shot the ground near his troops, scattering them further away.

Not caring for honourable retreat, Xiu ran for his life, hoping to regroup at least half a mile down the wall.

Back at the site, Starscream charged his cannons and armed his missiles, taking aim at the nearest Behemoth.

_Those giant robots are stopping our advance, so their destruction is priority. _Thought the former Decepticon air commander. He had heard the desperate plea for heavy support over the UIP comms, and had already called in an air strike from orbit. For now, he would attack from afar.

Arming his missile launchers, Starscream fired a volley of three missiles at the Behemoth's leg left leg joint, and also the third missile at its right leg joint. He gleefully watched as the deadly projectiles exploded on target, blowing parts from the leg joints.

The 50 metre robot visibly stumbled, and came to a halt as it partially knelt. A quick scan told Starscream that he had immobilized the giant war machine with his three well placed shots.

However, a heavy volley of laser and railgun fire at the surrounding wall reminded the seeker that he had only immobilized, not disarmed. Starscream took off at full speed, avoiding any other fire from the Behemoth or any marauding enemies in the air.

A dozen miles away, the squadron of attack spacecraft flew overhead at 60,000 feet. Their bomb bays were open, ready to deploy precision munitions and high power missiles.

Within a half a minute, they would deliver the pain.

**Upper/Mid ring wall base.**

Alex pursued Barricade at full speed, his suit having deployed a set of roller treads on its feet, and a small rocket pack on its back for jumps, or in this case, speed boost while on fast straights.

The white and black vehicle made a last corner, and went to full speed as it charged towards the wall base. Getting an idea of what was about to happen, Alex also went a full thrust.

Over the comms network, he saw a warning flash, an incoming bomber attack on the most forward Behemoth.

Alex mentally cursed, knowing the giant would be disabled in this attack. Even though he had backup, those things were hard and long to build, and if one goes over, it will cause damage where it will land. He sent a call to the troops nearby the Behemoth.

As he finished the call, Barricade deployed built in weapons on his alternate form, and fired at the wall.

Beneath the Behemoth, the Earth Kingdom captain saw one of the friendly troopers approach him. In a monotonous but fierce tone, it said while pointing to the Behemoth: "That thing is going to fall if its attacked heavily, which it is about to! Your men need to place many earth pillars beneath it and slowly lower it to the ground to prevent massive collateral damage!"

Looking at the unsteady and kneeling giant, the Captain immediately understood, and issued the warning to his men to get into positions to stall the giant's fall.

Trion and Sru'sky flew overhead, watching the battle unfold beneath them. From the north a squad of attack craft fired their salvos.

The most forward Behemoth visibly stumbled and lurched as explosions consumed its body. As the flight passed overhead, it began to topple forwards, defeated and offline. As it fell though, the earth manipulators of the local armed forces, seemed to summon many massive rocky supports, catching the giant as it fell, and slowly guided it to the ground to slump over carefully.

Sru'sky looked worriedly at Trion's cockpit dashboard, saying: "The locals are allied with Alex's forces. How can we be peaceful to them when they're with him?"

"We can't, we must just refrain from killing them." Said Trion, a hint of sadness and finality in his voice. Sru'sky hung her head in regret, but immediately snapped back up when she heard, with Trion, a signal from their Cybertronian scout.

"**Barricade reporting. I am being pursued by Alex at present, and am luring him beyond the inner wall of the city, into the middle ring. He is in a customized AMP suit, and is adept with it. Approach with extreme caution."**

Immediately, Trion banked steeply towards the wall perimeter thousands of feet below, while Sru'sky readied her weapons as they descended.

**Middle ring, Inner/Mid ring wall base.**

In an area of the city remarkably undisturbed by the battle, in the southeast, life went on as normal.

A mother guided her child across the street, ready to head back home from the market place, with baskets of fruit and meat in their arms. The little girl skipped joyfully, her favourite doll in hand. She then dropped the doll, and the mother saw this, and the two backed up to retrieve it.

Beside them, the mighty walls of Ba Sing She stood as strong as ever.

They walked off, reaching the edge of the street once more. Behind them, over the chatter of the market place, without any warning, the wall base exploded outwards in a flurry of stone, dust and debris.

People screamed as the base of the wall collapsed, leaving a circular hole near the wall base. The mother and daughter looked at the hole panicked, and within two seconds of the blast, the cause literally flew through it.

A very large white and black blur flew through the hole, rolling to a stop as it landed on, shockingly, two feet! After a 100 foot midair spin through the hole, also rolling on the floor, a Black and White metallic figure stood in a combative stance, standing 17 feet tall and sporting vicious claws and shining red eyes.

The wall was scratched at the hole rim as another form exploded onto the scene. This one was a metallic figure also, slightly taller than the first, and with Black and red trimmed armour, and no eyes at all. Charging at the first giant, the second slammed into the Black and white giant, sending sparks and a high pitched shriek of pain into the air.

The mother grabbed her daughter and ran, taking the doll but leaving the food forgotten. At the same time, the market place became panicked, as people fled the fight area.

Alex grappled with the assassin mech, and delivered a kick to Barricade's side. The mech howled in pain, and grabbed Alex's suit by the shoulders. Swinging it around, Barricade threw it into a nearby house, destroying half of it in the collision.

Jumping up, Alex deployed his railgun arm, and deployed an arm blade at the same time. He caught Barricade's mace, the chain wrapping around the blade's shaft, trapping it. Elbowing the enraged mech, Alex raised his gun arm, and pressing against Barricade's side, he fired a low yield antimatter round.

The blast was equal to a 400 lb bomb again, and both were blasted back by it at point blank range. Alex was blasted backwards, destroying the rest of the first building and the halves of another two. Barricade was blown back into the wall, scraping and tumbling across its edge, creating a lot of scratched on his plating.

As Barricade rose to his feet once more, Alex got up too. Raising his railgun again, he saw Barricade look up briefly, and then shoot a smirk in his direction. He then heard a roar of jets overhead, and he too looked up.

Overhead, he saw Starscream hovering 40 metres overhead, in robot mode, a laser cannon pointed at the mech suit. Beside him, a familiar fighter craft detached a large section, allowing it to fall to the earth by Barricade.

Unfurling, and pulsing his jump thrusters, Trion landed easily besides the assassin mech, his blue eyes shining fiercely at Alex's mech suit. From inside his chest, the cockpit opened, and Sru'sky leapt out, her own dark brown and green body armour showing visible biosuit enhancements and weaponry. Both had changed little, trion's body was still predominantly silver, and his alternate mode had not changed. Sru'sky too was much the same, other than equipment, she still kept her black hair long, her braid and queue tucked inside her armour to prevent it getting damaged. Her green eyes stared intently at the suit, with ferocity in them that Alex had rarely ever seen.

Surrounded, Alex sent out a low frequency distress call, and continued to stare down his old, and new adversaries.

Alex took a step forwards, ignoring Starscream's laser cannon pointed at him from above. He revealed the visible glass of his canopy, and shot a hate filled look at Sru'sky and Trion. He said: "I must applaud your efforts of coming all the way here to find me. But I must warn you, these inhabitants are powerful, and do not take kindly to people who attack their home. Back down now, and retreat, leave in peace on this world, and I shall call off all attacks on your forces."

Trion spat out a retort: "We won't make deals with traitors and war criminals."

Alex sidestepped, his railgun now pointing at Trion: "War criminal? Have I not told you my deeds were for the greater good already? I have no regrets as to what I did, up until when I killed H'nuptec. However, I must ask, has the Savahe Huntress awoken from her slumber yet?"

Sru'sky snarled at Alex, and yelled: "You put her in that condition! For that, you will see justice!" Alex shook his head, and said: "You misunderstand. Justice is balance. She left me near the brink of death, so I returned the favour."

On his scanners, he saw the support he called fast approaching. He declared: "But now I have found new friends to fight with and to protect. I have made a fresh start here, and I shall erase any trace of my past!"

He re-blackened his suit's cockpit screen, just as a massive aircraft flew over the border wall. A massive 45 metre aircraft, heavily laden with weaponry itself, but also flanked by 4 fighters. It descended, and opened up on all three mechs and Sru'sky. Starscream looped and rolled to avoid the fire, while Barricade, Trion and Sru'sky leapt behind cover.

A carbon nanotube cargo cable lowered, which Alex's suit took a hold of. The heavy aircraft took off suppressing all four enemies, not aiming to kill. The fighters fired also, and as Alex's suit and the aircraft passed back over the wall, Starscream managed to shoot one down, but missed the other three.

The heavy aircraft and its remaining three fighter escorts flew back to the Earth Kingdom palace, to regroup with a large segment of the mechanized force and the remaining Behemoth.

Back in the middle ring, Starscream took to the air again, ready to finished this mission once and for all, as his patience had worn thin. Barricade had transformed and set off back down the streets, heading for the palace by street.

Sru'sky was now back in Trion's fighter cockpit, who had reconnected to his fighter frame in mid air.

All the UIP forces were now converging on the palace and government area.

In orbit, the Liberator led the defence in a valiant fight against the invaders. One of its escort destroyers had been badly damaged, and was now sheltering behind the Liberator, whilst the rest of the fleet slugged it out. Other than that, the fight was slightly one sided.

However, the role of the defender fleet was to limit the ground transports, which they successfully did, and hold off the fleet form any possible bombardment positions. A limiting order chain, but one they easily accomplished.

On the palace roof, Xale looked at the regrouping robot force, and in his magnified vision, spotted five familiar figures among them.

In the distance, a large aircraft approached with fighters, heading towards the palace, different from the rest of this faction's fighters and aircraft.

Xale smirked in anticipation, and set off down from the roof.

Still 1000 miles away, Raxler approached the city at subsonic speed, to avoid detection by sonic boom. His emotionless CPU calculated that with the loss of one Behemoth, this battle would become much more heated and costly.

In his limited emotion capacity, he fretted he may not get there in time.


	18. Chapter 18

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 18: Unleashed.**

**6****th**** April 2900. Ba Sing Seh, Earth Kingdom Palace.**

The gathering was large, as the mechanized forces and earth kingdom garrison converged in the palace plaza.

The mechanized forces stationed themselves in combat positions, weapons at the ready. Among Alex's force were normal troopers, heavy troopers, custom AMP suits, mobile artillery and even 20 tanks. The remaining Behemoth towered over the robot force, at the centre of the plaza.

Nearby, the earth garrison stood on alert, wary of their sudden 'allies', but also on the lookout for the invaders. General Xiu had since arrived, and had been also cautious yet thankful for this robotic support.

Up at the palace, Iroh, Sokka, Toph, Aang and Katara had burst into the throne room to warn the earth king of the coming battle. Arriving at the door, they burst in, forgoing any decency of knocking.

Upon arriving, they saw Zuko and Mai talking with the Earth King by the throne stage. Aang exclaimed: "ZUKO? Why are you here?"

"A meeting with the Earth King Kieu over preparations for an upcoming peace meeting. I thought you all were at the South Pole? And why are you here uncle? And what is going on outside?" Asked Zuko, as he, Mai and Kieu looked over in interest.

"We were, but some strange people came from nowhere and attacked the village, looking for Alex!" Said Sokka.

In the next five minutes, they explained what had happened during the past week and the frantic journey they took here, followed by the massive multiple front battle that unfolded. Toph then said: "If you doubt us, just come look outside, where all the action is!"

Upon her word, the three followed the five out the doors, and within a minute were arriving at the top of the staircase. Zuko, Mai and Kieu's jaws dropped, as they gazed at the massive gathering of unknown forces below, with a massive bipedal giant dominating the plaza. Overhead, aircraft, not balloons though, hovered and flew overhead, roaring and rumbling as they did so.

In the plaza centre, a particularly large aircraft landed, deploying a group of troops and a single, very large trooper. The large trooper bounded over to the staircase, apparently having seen them. It stood on the stairs, and fired what appeared to be two bluish rockets from its back.

On two wheeled feet, it flew up the stairs, and came to a halt at the top of the staircase, standing imposingly before the eight people. Its black and red armour, scorched and deeply scratched in places, was alien and hostile to them. However, in a glass pod, Alex sat inside, hooked up with cables and harnesses.

The twenty foot giant spoke, in a disambiguated voice of Alex: "Zuko, Mai? Why are you here?" Sokka answered offhandedly: "Pre-meeting meeting."

The giant waved a hand dismissively, and looked back towards the wall in the distance, saying to them all: "The invaders have pushed us back to here, we lost one Behemoth to their fire, they're stronger than I anticipated. You best stay out of the way, inside the depths of the palace, this fight will not spread inside ever."

Suddenly, laserfire erupted from down below in the plaza, and as all nine looked back, they saw the mobile artillery, tanks and AMP suits firing on incoming enemy air and spacecraft, lasers, missiles and surface to air boulders streaking through the air.

In the distance, a lone fighter ploughed through the maelstrom of fire with frightening speed, and was closing in on Alex, fast. Two missiles fired, and arced towards the group. In response, Alex fired a small intercept missile at the first, destroying it on impact in a violent explosion.

The second missile came on still, but met a launched boulder from Aang, detonating the warhead a 100 metres from the staircase peak.

"Thanks! Now get back, he's mine!" Alex said, and as Starscream drew closer, Alex ran along the open hallway to the left of the staircase. He aimed his suit's laser cannon, and fired at the incoming mech as he ran.

Starscream altered his course slightly to head for the boy's AMP suit, running along the hall currently, the pillars acting as small barriers. The laser fire came close to hitting the fighter frame, and Starscream went to full throttle, and transformed in midair, and screamed towards the AMP suit,

As Starscream transformed, Alex stopped firing, and turned quickly while in a run. His suit ran at full speed, and at the edge of the hallway slope to the ground, the back thrusters pulsed, and Alex leapt into the air, on a collision with the incoming seeker.

Red optics locked with red eyes, as the two met.

The crash was horrific, and as they all watched helplessly from the staircase peak, they saw Alex collide in midair with the metal giant, who had changed from the fast aircraft.

The two fell, wrestling with each other in midair. Running to the edge of the stairs, the Gaang and the Earth King saw the two giants hit the palace's stone slopes, separating them. Tumbling fast and visually painfully, the two rolled and bounced with a series of loud metallic clangs. The larger of the two, the aircraft giant, rocketed away from the slope a good 100 feet from the bottom, and landed skilfully on the ground below.

Alex meanwhile, did activate his rockets, but slightly too late. He gained control, but his suit hit the ground at an awkward angle, crashing hard into the ground, leaving a long crater in its wake.

Aang then called: "We have to help him! He's in trouble, he'd do the same for us!" Katara placed a firm hand on his shoulder, saying: "I'm in." Toph and Sokka then agreed: "Us too!"

Iroh turned to Zuko: "Nephew, they will be greatly aided by two strong firebenders." Zuko nodded, and turned to Mai: "Mai, this fight is too dangerous, I want you to stay here." Sokka, seeing Mai's slightly angry expression, said: "Well actually, it may not be as dangerous as we thin-"

The group all turned at a sudden noise, and they saw the Behemoth and mechanized tanks firing away at invader tanks. Explosions rocked the Behemoth, and a particularly large one had detonated harmfully against its left arm.

Mai deadpanned, and said: "Fine, I'm not one for suicide missions anyway." She and Earth King Kieu the briskly headed back inside, towards a sheltered bunker in the palace's lower levels.

Toph earthbeded an elevator platform on the staircase, onto which all six climbed onto quickly. She and Aang then sent the platform quickly down the stairs, the opposite of what they had done when storming the earth king's palace nearly three years ago.

Alex grappled with the seeker, holding both of the mech's servos back with some degree of strain. He took a quick look around, ignoring the birdlike seeker right in front of his cockpit canopy.

In the plaza, the UIP armour and troopers were slightly outnumbered by Alex's own force and the local earthbenders. He had the advantage of an ally with a home advantage, but looking at the palace, he saw a fretful sight. Running from the base of the stairs was Aang, Katara, Iroh, Zuko, Sokka and Toph.

He mentally cursed, not intending for them to be involved. In impatience, Alex swung Starscream around, the lightly-built mech rather easy to throw for his size. Alex threw Starscream towards the paving slope towards the palace, and fired off an antimatter round for good measure. The seeker was blown in midair by the 500lb equivalent round, and hit the slope hard, temporarily dazed.

Deploying his suit's tread feet, Alex motored off towards the fray, hoping to protect his friends from danger. He stopped when he saw a familiar shape on the palace roof. A dark figure, in a helmeted suit, staring down at him. A quick binocular scan showed it was indeed Xale.

The figure took off, flying towards the heart of the battle. Alex pursued, and was soon fighting his way through the fray.

Above, Trion orbited the battlefield, while he and Sru'sky scanned the ground for Alex. From enhancer view from above, they saw a dark figure flying across towards the battlefield. In shock, they saw it was one of the two dark assassins who had once attacked them, the male.

Yet simultaneously, they saw Starscream's scans, and saw Alex was now fighting his way through an AMP suit team below, in a custom AMP suit.

The pair flew down, knowing which of the two targets had priority.

_I wish it did not have to be this way brother. _Sru'sky sadly thought as they descended towards the battlefield.

On the ground, Toph earthbent with the garrison force, driving armoured vehicles, troopers and metal giants back. The stun blasts from the enemy weapons were all intended for them, whilst they aimed to kill on the mechanized forces.

Sending a small paving tsunami at a nearby tank, Toph felt around for any more foes, and pressed her attack. The local troopers, being able to actually see, targeted enemy aircraft that were daring or stupid enough to come low, launching massive boulders towards them. Aircraft were damaged by the boulders at best, as they reduced them to rubble with precision fire before they could impact and cause severe damage.

A few dozen metres away, Aang and Katara used a combination of water and airbending to drive back some invader troopers, using water from a nearby canal trench they had crossed. Around them troopers were blown away, whipped or frozen into place.

Sokka had forgone using his sword, as in this battle close range combat was foolish. He used his boomerang to stun enemy troopers, which lined them up to be taken out by a group of earthbenders assisting him.

Zuko and Iroh worked in tandem, firing a blazing inferno towards a group of incoming troopers, driving them away in a fiery hurricane.

Overhead, the Behemoth swiped and fired missiles and laser bursts at enemy air and space craft, managing to damage or even destroy a few unlucky or slow ones. Beneath it, friendly AMP suits and robot troopers fired on the UIP forces fiercely, attempting to drive them back.

The air and space power of the UIP was underestimated, as the forces were bombarded from attack craft runs and cut down by other striking aircraft. The plaza was a mess, craters and robots and bodies littered the ground, blood, fluid and scorch marks everywhere.

Near the frontlines, a brigade of UIP AMP suits tried to hold off a particularly large adversary. They had already lost two to it in combat, and only two remained.

Alex grabbed the nearest remaining suit with his own suit, and slammed it to the ground, avoiding the random laser fire the driver attempted to hit him with. He stomped his suit's foot down on the laser cannon, crushing it, and then cut through the suit's arms and one leg with his suit's plasma blade. With this suit useless, Alex moved on, uncaring that the pilot scrambled out in fear and ran to his own side again.

Alex charged the nearest suit, only stumbling as the laser rounds hit his suit. As he collided, warning lights flashed, showing hazardous damage to his suit's left arm joint. Rolling over the UIP suit, Alex swung a roundhouse kick, sending the suit sprawling away. Deploying his heavy railgun, Alex fired, the recoil visible on his left arm. The UIP suit exploded, and became a ruined hulk of metal on the ground.

Warnings sounded, showing emergency shutdowns of the left arm section. Apparently the railgun recoil had damaged the left arm to the point where it could no longer function, when coupled with the damage the arm already took.

True to the warning, Alex could not move the suit's left arm. He was helpless now, he couldn't fight one handed. Voting that he stood a better chance outside the suit, Alex popped the canopy, and leapt out of the suit after he sat it down on its aft. Landing on the ground, Alex readied his own armour's weapons, and set off.

The battle was slowly a losing one. The earth garrison were losing men to stun fire, and unlike the UIP, who still had orbiting forces to spare despite the Liberator fleet's best efforts, Alex's forces were limited. However, both sides had dwindled in overall size.

Seeing his friends in need of help, Alex ran to assist them.

Approaching the canal, Alex saw the six Gaang members fighting against a shrunken number of UIP troopers. He called out to the nearest ones: "AANG! KATARA! FALL BACK! FALL BAC-" All of their heads turned, after they beat the last nearby troopers. Alex was looking at a dark figure, who had landed directly between him and his allies, dark matter swirling at his gloved fingertips.

Xale smirked beneath his mask, and gathered dark matter in his hands, whilst activating his hidden weapons: "Our fight wasn't finished. Norstith won't be pleased if we come back empty handed."

Alex laughed, and retorted from beneath his mask: "Fool. Norstith doesn't care if you come back at all. You're just a tool to him, as I was. He'll dispose of you once your usefulness runs dry." Alex's twin swords extended, as did Xale's: "And I feel Norstith would appreciate the favour of me disposing of you early. Without your other half, you stand no chance against me."

Xale raised his swords in an offensive posture, and merely said in his oily voice: "Your lies won't deceive me. Now let's see which of us is better, the old, traitorous apprentice, or the new, more loyal apprentice."

Dark matter erupted from beneath Alex, as he flew towards Xale on a jet of dark matter. Xale fired a spiral of dark matter at Alex. The two dark forces clashed, and overhead the thunderstorm finally flashed and rumbled, as the torrential downpour started.

Laser fire arced across the sky, smoke and dust arose from craters, earth, UIP and mechanized forces clashed in the distance, and in the centre of the plaza, 6 heroes of the previous war watched a struggle of another great war erupt in a dark cataclysm.

Starscream had peeled himself away from the wall, and had flown over to the plaza to search for his prey. Looking around, he noticed a peculiar sight, a series of blackish flames and shapes mingling with each other in an aggressive manner. Launching these flames were Alex, and another wanted individual of the Knight Initiative.

Sending a coded transmission to Barricade, Starscream flew over to the fight slowly, letting both of the humans wear each other down before entering the fray. Overhead, Trion and Sru'sky hung back too, having received the command from Starscream to hold back until the two were worn down.

Xale summoned a horde of dark fireballs, and launched them towards Alex, each one homing in on its target like a guided missile. Alex raised his own double blades, coating them in dark matter, and cut down each projectile in midair.

By now, Xale was getting worn down, the fight had gone on for almost 10 minutes, and unlike himself, Alex showed no signs of slowing.

_Why didn't I ask Norstith for bionic enhancements as Alex has? _Xale bitterly thought, as Alex launched a spiralling blast of darkness at him, which he side flipped away from with centimetres to spare. Landing, Xale suddenly stumbled, as he found his feet stuck to the floor by dark matter bindings. Alex had tricked him into landing in a trap, and now had Xale immobilized.

Taking aim, Alex charged dark matter in his hands, brought both hands together, and fired. The beam glowed a purple and violet colour, and the force hit Xale hard enough to crack a few ribs, even beneath his custom armour suit. The wind driven out of him, Xale hit the plaza ground, rolling and scraping along the pavement painfully.

Glancing up, Xale brought a dark shield up to block Alex, who had charged at the downed youth after his powerful attack, a dark glow surrounding his blades. The blades hit the shield in an X shape, and the two dark warriors struggled against one another.

Xale, his organic strength betraying him, collapsed slightly under Alex's superior strength. In triumph, Alex whispered: "You've lost this fight. While your skills are commendable, they are eclipsed by my own. Perhaps then, as a sign of respect, I shall hunt down your sister, so she can join you in death, to make your own stay there in loneliness brief."

In a roar of anger, Xale punched Alex square in the helmet, shattering the gleaming black surface in places. Swinging with his blades, Xale pushed Alex back, his rage at Alex threatening the only blood relative he had that he cared for fuelling his strength. Startled, Alex stumbled backwards, defending against Xale's swings from his dark slashes and his plasma swords.

At last, the end came. Alex found his left arm knocked away from his guard, and Xale brought his own blade to meet Alex's arm at the shoulder joint.

The pain was brief, as the nerve sensors cut off from overload. Plasma blade severed the bionic limb at the base, leaving only an inch or two of machinery between the cut and flesh.

Alex's left arm fell to the floor, useless and limp. From the severed end, sparks and hydraulic fluid leaked out onto the pavement.

Xale laughed maniacally in triumph, as Alex stared aghast at his severed limb. After he finished laughing, Xale looked at Alex, taking note of the expression in his eyes.

He saw a flash of rage, and then Xale felt a cold, icy limb tighten around his windpipe.

Toph and Katara had screamed out loud when they felt/saw Alex lose his arm. The others stood agape, as Alex had his arm severed from his body in such a brutal manner. Almost instantaneously, their initial horror was replaced by a new horror.

From the stump, no bones, blood or tissue was present. Twisted and severed metal only was there. Then, the other dark warrior had stopped laughing, and at that point, like a rapid plant growth, a new arm, black as the darkest abyss, erupted and formed from Alex's shoulder.

Alex seized Xale in his dark grip, and tightened around his windpipe. Struggling for air, Xale lost control of his own darkness, and gasped desperately for oxygen. The dark grip tightened further, and Xale began to lose consciousness.

An explosion nearby threw both of them apart, sending Alex sprawling away, and Xale rolling away to settle on the ground, unmoving. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Iroh stumbled backwards as they saw a familiar foe return, and Toph confirmed it as the giant, Starscream.

From the side also, another familiar shape to all but Zuko, as the white and black patrol vehicle transformed and skidded to stand by Starscream, weapons trained on Alex. Finally, from above, a familiar sound of shifting metal, as yet another metal giant landed from above, this one silver with blue eyes.

From inside, a tall blue figure leapt out, clad in green body armour. It appeared to be female, and had a tail and long black braided hair.

At the sight of the two last figures, Alex visibly snarled in anger, as darkness pulsated around his body, as if preparing to pounce. It was Starscream who spoke first: "You, Alex, are to be taken into custody of the United Interstellar Powers militia, and any attempt to resist arrest will be met with severe force, as I will gladly install if need be."

"Not until after I get a crack at him you won't." Said Barricade, cracking his servo joints menacingly, his scarlet optics flashing angrily. The six were taken aback by the intense need to arrest Alex. Toph, daring as ever, had had enough of being kept in the dark. She earthbended herself over to the giants, and made sure to create a miniature earthquake to announce her presence.

Knowing she had their attention, she demanded: "Why are you all here! For Alex! What exactly gives you the right to invade our home just to capture him!"

Starscream bent down to examine this stubborn 15 year old human, intrigued by the courage this local possessed: "What right do we have? We are apprehending an incredibly dangerous individual, responsible for the murder and deaths of thousands of soldiers and innocent citizens of the United Interstellar Powers, and the torture of hundreds."

Toph, not knowing if he was lying by his lack of pulse, asked the only one with a pulse, the blue woman: "How do I know you're not lying?" She shook her head, and venomously commented: "He is not lying, everything Alex stands accused of he is guilty of, including the torture of one of our closest friends, and the murder of our father!"

Alex cackled lowly, and said: "You're still convinced I viewed H'nuptec as my father. He never viewed me as his son, and even though his death troubles me as unnecessary, his foolishness of standing in my way sealed his own fate. As for Quirinth, our former friend, tell me-" Alex stepped forwards, and unfurled his mask, revealing his scarred and newly burnt face: "Has she awoken from that coma she succumbed to after I installed my revenge on her?"

Sru'sky snapped, and unfolded her weapons: "You, you're not my brother, you are a monster! We were right to let you die on that collapsing building, and we would have been happier if you had stayed dead! Ever since you returned from the dead 10 months ago you have caused nothing but pain, misery and sorrow for me and my, YOUR family, your former friends and the whole galaxy!"

Alex sent a dark tsunami towards Sru'sky, knocking her back a few metres into Trion's outstretched arms, catching her. He bellowed: "I went down a path to pursue true justice. You let yourself be constrained by petty views of prejudice and moral values. I went down a path of true justice, and fro a while, before I was found out, I was happy! I had found my purpose! But then, you struck me down, but I returned, to finish my work, and to also get revenge on those who literally cut short my life!"

Alex ripped off his right shoulder armour, revealing the deep gouge mark of where his skin was altered to appear like his last injury before dying. Seeing the injury, Trion and Sru'sky exchanged shocked looks, and assumed a defensive stance as Alex replaced the armour.

Trion then spoke, his blue optics flickering angrily: "You are a danger to everyone! You have become a monster, deluded by intentions of justice!"

Alex reformed his mask, and stated with no emotion: "If I am a monster, I am one you created when you turned against me without a second thought. As soon as I stepped to another faction, you betrayed and denounced me. So much for loyalty of friendship and family ties."

Alex extended his sword blades, and sent out a message to his forces: "And I am sick of being used as a tool of war and destruction! I came here to find a fresh start, and now you dragged another war to this world unnecessarily! I let Quirinth off easily by sending her into a coma months back, but I see now that if my vengeance is to truly be complete, I must obliterate your existence!"

He raised a hand, and off to the side, the Behemoth trained its guns onto the entire group, setting its power to maximum. Alarmed, Starscream and Barricade aimed at the gigantic robot, but did not fire, as they were outmatched by it in every way. Alex gestured: "Now I shall fight both of you, two on one, to the death. No rules, only survival. My large ally there will ensure our fight is uninterrupted, and if you even think of calling for backup, I will have you wiped from existence before you can blink."

Alex charged his swords with dark matter, and took a guard posture while arming his armour's other weapons. Opposite, Sru'sky armed her weapons, and Trion took up his stance, ready for battle. Normally, a human posed little threat to a Na'vi or Cybertronian. However, Alex used extreme force of known weaponry and this strange shadow combat. He was far from an easy opponent.

Sru'sky shook her head sadly, and said: "I wish it could be otherwise brother." Alex retorted quickly: "I was never your brother. I know it, your father thought it, but I guess you can ask him once you join him in oblivion."

Lighting flashed overhead, and Alex charged at his two enemies on a black jet, bearing down on them with lethal intent. Bringing their guards to block, Sru'sky and Trion began to fight, the struggle starting once again after over a year since their last fateful encounter.

As the three clashed, any thoughts of former friendship or family ties vanished, replaced by the instinct to kill and survive.

In orbit, the Liberator had taken a beating. Having acted as a shield to protect its damaged counterpart fleet vessels, the battleship had bore the brunt of the UIP fleet. Half of the weapons stations were damaged, destroyed or exhausted of ammo or energy. At this point, the fleet moved to full on offensive, managing to hold off the cruisers from deploying them.

A call came from Ba Sing Seh, ordering an precision orbital strike on the Behemoth. The UIP cruiser _Victorious_ brought a special weapon to bear, a heavy duty railgun, able to aim within 1 metres of a target. Bringing its aim to bear, it fired off two round rapidly, sending two penetration warheads screaming at mach 10 towards the cityscape 300 kilometres below.

Aang watched in fear as he saw a massive blast from the silver giant barely miss Alex, who flipped around the beam and fired a burst from his own weapon. Alex too missed, and the round hit the ground far back, detonating in a massive, bright explosion. The blue woman had charged, firing her own weapon while swiping at Alex with her own arm blades.

To the avatar, and the rest of his friends, such power was unheard of. The very battle that had erupted between both unknown sides eclipsed any previous battle this world had seen by sheer destruction alone. And yet, the reasons for the battle were vague.

In a more sinister turn, some of the individuals were of creed unknown, or possessed abilities that seemed completely unnatural, even in a world of bending.

Alex smashed the ground with a fist, sending a massive dark explosion out from him in all directions. The silver giant and the blue woman were blasted off their feet, the dark fire scratching them badly. As Alex looked at his prey, Aang realized that Alex had lied to them, he had kept his past from them. Though he lied, the fact remained that the lie had tried to prevent this destruction from occurring prematurely.

Nevertheless, Alex had openly admitted to his alleged crimes, and if true, he was likely the most monstrous being Aang had ever heard of.

He was also the most misguided and mentally torn, protecting his new sanctuary, while engaging in bloody massacre.

Overhead, the Behemoth stood strong, its weapons still preventing anyone from interfering in this battle of shattered bonds.

Trion was seized around the torso by multiple thick black arms, each rising from the floor. In front, Alex threw his arm to the side, and Trion soared off to the side, landing painfully against a nearby obelisk in the plaza centre, where the fighting had moved elsewhere for now.

Dazedly, and as his onboard checking software operated, he saw Sru'sky had snuck up behind Alex, and using her left vibro arm blade, she swung at Alex's shoulder. Trion's spark froze, as if sensing the end.

Until an arm as dark as a black hole seized the blade, the vibro motion doing little to nothing.

Sru'sky strained, as she applied greater strength onto left blade arm. Alex never let go, and his dark arm only tightened on the blade. Then, impossibly, he started to force the blade back.

Against a full grown Na'vi, Alex was winning in a battle of strength. Bending his adoptive sister's arm backwards, Alex decided to draw more of her blood in this fight.

As the blade became level, Sru'sky felt a stabbing pain in her arm, and looked down to see a dark tentacle, like a spike, sticking through her lower arm.

The pain hit her, and she threw her head back, screaming in agonizing pain, before falling backwards to collapse on the floor, clutching her heavily bleeding arm. The bone had been unharmed, but the flesh had been punctured clean through.

Above her, her brother smashed a boot into her left shoulder, causing her to scream in more pain. He leaned down, inspecting his prey, and said in a voice as blank as his mask: "Now you understand the pain I feel by your betrayal."

He raised his sword above her head, and the dark arm disappeared, leaving only the severed stump of his former biotech arm. He poised it above Sru'sky's heart, activating the vibro and plasma settings.

Off to the side, Trion rose to his feet, and letting out a bellow, he charged at Alex, uncaring for his own safety.

The turning point came.

Before Alex could stab, he was thrown off his target by a colossal explosion from nearby, and sent sprawling. Before he could recover, he felt silver claws close around his torso, and he was thrown once more.

The Gaang saw everything.

They saw Alex poised to kill his own sister, after brutally wounding her, and the fight looked to be a victory for him. Then, the Behemoth for an instant turned its attention skyward, just in time to see two screaming meteorites smash into its armour. In a millisecond, they penetrated into the giant's armour, and detonated with 6000 lb equivalent explosive force.

The explosion was enormous, as the Behemoth was literally blown apart by the blast. Toph and Aang had created a rock wall to protect them and their friends, as debris from the Behemoth rained down on them.

Lowering the wall, they saw the turning point in the fight. Alex had been blown off his sister, and had now been grabbed by the silver giant, and was thrown towards their direction. Alex flew at them, dazed and unable to poise himself for a softer landing.

He smashed onto the ground the other side of the canal, their side. Rolling and scraping, Alex's dark arm fell apart briefly like a sand pile, until h reformed it as he struggled to his feet. From behind, Starscream had flown over, and fired a missile close by. The blast and shrapnel hit Alex, sending him further towards them.

He landed in front of his former friends, a shell of his former self.

At their feet, a black and red armoured person, with a half destroyed helmet, scorched and torn metal limbs, and yet a bleeding organic torso and head. His eyes were crimson red, like the blood he had spilt, yet they pleaded in desperation as they looked into the eyes of his new companions.

He reached out his remaining arm desperately, the metal fingers stretching helplessly towards his friends, who recoiled slightly at the sight of him. Alex croaked to them a small plea: "Please, understand. I did what I thought was right, even if my path was different. I chose this. Don't abandon me as my past friends already have."

A metal foot grasped Alex, roughly pressing his shattered body into the pavement. Barricade loomed over the boy, revolted that such a pathetic creature had caused so much pain. He hissed in disgust, and flipped the boy over to see his face:

"You have lost human. You are our prisoner now."

Beneath Barricade's foot, Alex exploded in anger: "I WILL NEVER BE A PRISONER!"

A gigantic dark pillar erupted, and Barricade was thrown high into the air, screeching in pain from the impact. Recovering, Alex shaped his dark limb into a sword, and on his right arm, he extended his last plasma sword, and activated his railgun and plasma rifle. He looked at Starscream, who raised his cannon to fire.

Erecting a dark wall, Alex aimed, and fired. A large yield antimatter shell fired.

Starscream was engulfed in a massive explosion, blowing the mech backwards into a nearby rubble pile. Trion, in anger, charged his fusion cannon, and fired. The blue energy round barely missed Alex, who twisted away to watch it sail past him.

Trion fired once more, and Alex launched himself overhead with his turbofan pack, firing off plasma rounds as he did so. The silver mech stumbled as the plasma burnt his wiring and armour, and as Alex landed on his back, he desperately scrambled for a grip on the boy.

Taking his opportunity, Alex stabbed into Trion's spinal cables, earning shrieks of pain from the mech, and uncontrolled spasms. In a spasm, Trion managed to knock Alex off, and he quickly turned around to try to flatten the human beneath his fist.

Dodging Trion's fists, Alex fired a low yield round at the mech's foot. The armour and wires exploded, rendering the foot all but useless. The blast blew Alex backwards, coming to a skidding halt 20 metres away.

He regained his stance, and as he scanned the battlefield, his friends saw just how little they had known the real Alex. This one still fought for what he thought was right, yet here was someone utterly ruthless, without morals, without mercy.

He was undeniably evil, and yet they needed to help him.

In the background, the fight had calmed down. The destruction of the last Behemoth had scattered Alex's forces somewhat, and the UIP had pressed them back, along with the locals earthbenders. With air superiority all but guaranteed for now, and ground forces weakening, they all closed in on their collective target.

Rarely was the cost of so many needed for such few, or single individual.

Aang blasted a mini tornado at incoming invaders.

They had been closing in ever since the last Behemoth's destruction. And with the fighters getting surrounded, the battle looked to be over. Katara, Toph, Zuko and Iroh attacked incoming invaders, but their attention seemed distracted by the fight between Alex and the invader leaders.

Indeed, as the invaders seemed to pass them by, and surround the plaza, the true motive for their arrival was known. They had come for Alex.

Alex staggered up, the last blast having disoriented him. Trion was also staggering, quite badly, as he placed all his weight on his unharmed foot. His fusion cannon still trained on the boy, he declared: "Give up! You are under arrest!"

"This fight isn't over, and so long as you stand in my way, it never will be!"

Trion gestured with his other hand: "Look around, your forces are scattered, and you are surrounded. Give up."

Alex briefly glanced around, noticing the hundred or so troopers and AMP suits with weapons pointed at him. He also noticed Starscream and Barricade staggering over, to aim their weapons at him.

Alex raised his cannon at Trion, saying: "I would rather die than be a prisoner, so give your best shot, that is after I'm done killing you." He sent power to the railgun, ready to fire it.

A sharp, incredibly shocking sting went through his body from his back, causing him to fall to the ground in pain as his organic body betrayed him. He cried out, and whirled around to see Sru'sky aiming a smoking rifle barrel at him. He could not believe his mistake! He should have killed her as soon as possible! She had stunned him!

Alex rose up, his mechanical limbs unaffected. He charged at her, bringing his rifle to bear. Suddenly, he was blown off his feet as a fusion blast mangled his machine left foot. He rolled over, and he felt a series of stun shots him in the chest, sending him into the blackness.

Sru'sky dropped her rifle, relieved that this fight was finally over. Her brother had been subdued, and he could now be transported. As an added bonus, they also had an unconscious dark assassin, the male, captive, which ironically was thanks to Alex's efforts.

The troopers seized both bodies, as Sru'sky succumbed to her wounds and passed out, as a field medic rushed over to her.

In desperation to not lose another to war, Toph charged, riding on a massive earth hill towards the invaders. Behind her, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Iroh charged, bellowing in rage as they ran at the weakened invaders.

They struck hard, the four elements battling hard with the forces. Alone, they were outgunned, and were forced back by stun fire. They watched helplessly as they carted away Xale and Alex, disbelief etched onto their faces.

Suddenly, a storm of high energy fire rained down upon them all from above. Aang looked up, and saw a squadron of Alex's fighters and attack aircraft indiscriminately opening fire. One fighter flew in faster than normal, and a shape ejected from its belly, rocketing towards the invader army.

Raxler closed in, the last message sent by Alex fresh in his CPU.

**Primary defence failed. I am captured. Collateral damage no longer a factor. Wipe them out.**

Raxler flew to the ground, deploying his roller feet as he landed, and exploded into combat action. A UIP human trooper fired uselessly against his armour, and Raxler rushed past, slicing the trooper in half with an outstretched blade.

He radioed his forces to attack without mercy. This was no longer a defence mission, it was annihilation.

Still moving at 60 miles an hour, Raxler fired his arm's neutron beam cannon, disintegrating enemy troopers on all sides. Their screams meant nothing to him, only his current directive was important.

Friendly troopers rejoined the fray, and the plaza erupted in chaos.

The Gaang looked on in horror as this new armoured figure, startlingly similar to Alex, began to utterly destroy anything in its path. It fought for Alex's side, ye now the destruction had become far too dangerous for them to survive.

Iroh called out: "This is not our fight! We must get to the palace and safety!" No one objected, and they all retreated quickly, constantly looking back at the apocalyptic battle taking place behind them. Even the local earthbenders had retreated. This fight was not one they wished to die in.


	19. Chapter 19

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 19: Doppleganger and the truth.**

**6****th**** April 2900. Ba Sing Seh, Earth Kingdom Palace.**

30 minutes passed since Raxler had entered the fray.

The plaza, already heavily damaged by the first battle stage, was now almost unrecognizable. Craters, bodies, blood and energon all but completely covered the ground, and even as the UIP visibly retreated to their transports, Alex's forces continued to kill every single one they possibly could.

Throwing a Na'vi trooper to the floor, Raxler raised his left foot, and smashed it down, crushing the Na'vi male's skull in a sickening crack. Not stopping, he raised his rifle, and killed three nearby UIP troopers with a quick burst of plasma fire. Three new bodies joined the hundreds on the floor.

Overhead, missiles and laser fire rapidly streaked through the sky, a deadly exchange between UIP and Defending air and space craft. Friend and foe craft alike spiralled to the ground, a trail of fire and smoke in their wake. The breaking cloud cover offered little brightness to this darkened day. Smoke rose from craters and fires, blackening the afternoon sky.

His scanners located the UIP transports, the most heavily defended force group of the UIP. He sent an air strike in, and led a charge with a dozen or so heavy troopers. On the boarding ramp of the largest transport, two human bodies were loaded up in electro binders, both unconscious.

On the UIP transport, Trion gazed in fear as the new commander led a charge at their position. Inside the ship, Alex and the dark male had been loaded up captive, and Sru'sky had been loaded onto a medical stretcher to recover.

Ignoring the pain in his near destroyed foot, Trion opened fire with his fusion cannon, backing up the cannon fire of both Starscream and Barricade beside him. The transport began to take off, the cargo bay remaining open to allow covering fire from all three mechs.

Below, the new foe leapt impossibly high, aided by a turbofan pack. Firing a grapple gun, he latched onto the transport, and fired a large burst of plasma fire at all three mechs. Barricade stumbled due to his smaller mass, and Starscream flinched as the rounds scorched his torso armour. Trion was knocked over, his foot finally failing him, snapping at the ankle as he fell over backwards. He shrieked and swore in Cybertronian, the pain overriding the fear of the incoming enemy.

The transport rose to 5,000 feet, and Starscream had had enough of combat for one day. He grabbed the cargo door and swung out towards the commander's grapple cable. He briefly flashed back, remembering how the human boy, Sam Witwicky, had killed him before with the help of a similar device. Had it not been for Optimus using the Matrix to restore him and Barricade, along with other decepticons, believing in second chances as he did, they would still be in the Pit most likely.

Discarding these bad memories, Starscream brought out his saw blade, and slashed the cable, cutting it. At 6000 feet now, the commander plummeted, his turbofan pack unable to help him keep up with the accelerating transport. Laughing in triumph, Starscream swung back into the cargo bay, and pressed the button to shut it.

As he re-entered, Barricade punched the seeker lightly on the shoulder: "Well done, he won't annoy us any longer." Meanwhile, Trion had been shipped to the medical station with Sru'sky, his snapped foot also with him.

They had been wounded, and many had died, but their goal was completed. Alex was captive, as was the dark male, and they would be interrogated and brought to justice.

It was such a pity that this world had to suffer to bring Alex down, and also a

Strange that a human population lived here in such numbers, with such unique abilities.

A science excursion later would be needed to investigate this anomaly.

As Raxler hovered, he realized he had failed his master. He had allowed Alex, his creator, to be captured by the UIP. He was a failure.

He processed his next course of action:

_**Alex captured. Requirement to rescue him primary objective.**_

_**Only one of two apprentices captured, other still on planet surface, likely Ba Sing Seh. Capture of female apprentice secondary priority.**_

…_**.**_

_**Secondary priority accomplishable without additional forces. Priority one requirements: Regroup forces for massed move against Alex's captors.**_

_**Order of execution: Secondary, Primary.**_

Gunning his pack, Raxler sped down to the city plaza thousands of feet below. In his limited emotional capacity, even Raxler was saddened by his failure, and mourning any possible horrible endurance Alex may go through before rescue. Worse still, the reaction of his friends and allies he acquired on the planet surface, likely waiting for an explanation.

Raxler radioed the forces to clear any debris they could, to clear up the battlefield, and to then regroup back at the island base, to prepare for an off world assasult. He then flew east, searching for the unique signature users of dark matter gave off.

**Eastern inner ring, wall base.**

Lexa ran desperately through the street. She had gone away, waiting for the right moment to attack Alex and find Xale. Over her helmet camera, she had seen Xale's perspective as he was knocked unconscious, and as Alex was also taken captive.

She had to get to their craft and rescue her brother.

As she ran, she failed to notice the dark shape circling overhead, getting lower and lower each second.

As she leapt over a barrel of vegetables, she felt something smash into her back, driving her into the floor, winding her. Against an inescapable grip, she was trapped. She felt a hand rip off her helmet, and a sharp prick in her neck. Within seconds, she fell unconscious, victim to the temporary paralysis agent.

The figure hoisted the girl over its shoulders, and took off into the air again, heading for the royal palace.

**Earth Kingdom palace, throne room.**

Inside the earth kingdom throne room, all was quiet. The sounds of battle had ceased, and to those inside, a guard had reported that the battle was over.

Fire Lord Zuko sat with his head in his hands, with Mai beside him, a comforting arm over his shoulders. Aang stood by the Earth King, while Katara stood by Sokka, Toph and Iroh.

Sokka spoke in a low voice: "So who do you think won?" Aang spoke dejectedly: "With destruction like that, no one wins."

Katara hugged herself, whispering aloud: "He lied to us all. He was a hunted person, a monster among his own kind."

The doors banged open, and a familiar voice penetrated the throne room:

"A monster, yes. But did that monster not protect you on many occasions, serve you all humbly, reunite you and your brother with our lost parent, among other things?"

They all turned to see the newer armoured figure, strikingly similar to Alex, standing in the doorway, his armour scorched and scratched, bloodstains on his black armour, matching the red markings on the armour plating.

All present leapt into attack positions, while Earth King Kieu leapt behind his throne. The six had witnessed this one's capacity for destruction, and had told the remaining two. At their stance, the figure raised his hands in submission:

"I do not wish to engage you. I require your assistance and understanding of the gravity of the situation you have been drawn into. To help explain, I brought a captive, who will be familiar to five of you."

He waved with his fingers, and a heavy trooper dragged a body into the room. It was the female dark apprentice, Lexa, now in electro chains. She was thrown on the floor by the trooper, who departed soon after. At the sight of her, everyone but Zuko, Mai and the Earth king stepped back.

Raxler looked over her, and announced: "She will be waking up now." For good measure, he kicked her hard in the torso. She roughly coughed as she woke up, groaning in pain as she did so. Roughly Raxler seized her around the neck and propped her into a kneeling position.

The robot stepped back, saying: "Do not attempt to resist or fight. Those bindings are specially designed to prohibit dark matter use. In the event you do break free-" He ground his flesh disguised fingers menacingly: "I will slowly peel your flesh from your bones. Understood?"

Fearfully, Lexa nodded slowly. Acknowledging this cooperation, Raxler turned to the Gaang, saying: "I leave you now to question her on any matters concerning the events preceding and during the battle today, and about Alex as I assume you are meaning to ask."

Zuko vehemently pointed out: "But you are Alex. Stop talking in the third person!" Raxler stared at them all, and said: "You truly do not understand. I am not Alex, I was created by him as a duplicate of himself, and as an ally. My name is Raxler." Seeing their confusion, Raxler folded away his helmet, revealing a copy of Alex's face, minus the burn scar. The face split apart, the flesh folding away to reveal shining red optical sensors and a dark silver plating beneath the skin. In the brain cavity, a shining super-processor resided instead.

The next few minutes were uncomfortable.

Raxler explained the truth, providing holographic or data evidence to them all to confirm it. He told them of Alex's involvement with the UIP-Alliance-KI war, how he betrayed one side and helped fully engage another in the conflict. After committing horrific atrocities he deserted, fleeing to a group of systems far away, in which he found this one. Alex had seen this as an opportunity for a fresh start, but eventually his past had literally come back to hunt him down, in the form of the UIP invasion and the KI infiltrators, one of whom was still bound here in the throne room.

Under Raxler's 'supervision', Lexa explained. She and her twin brother, Xale, were created as genetic clones of Alex, only changed slightly by feature colour or gender in her case. They were technically less than a year old, and had been bred to serve their master, Norstith.

It was she and Raxler combined who explained how Alex cheated death as the Gaang had overheard. The mind and soul transfer mechanism.

All this information was a lot to absorb, and the Gaang retreated into a back room to process it, whilst Raxler stayed back to ensure Lexa gave them no trouble. Left alone in the throne room, Raxler drew his plasma rifle and pressed the barrel into her head, ready to kill at a moment's notice.

"I can't believe it."

"How could he have hidden all this from us? His past, all the places out there, why wouldn't he tell us?"

"He's not the Alex we know. I mean Ozai and the Fire Nation was bad enough, but what he's done, along with those linked to him, I can't understand what would drive a person to do such things."

The 8 people sat down in the back lounge, processing the massive load of information they had just been fed. All their concepts of a realm beyond this world, any theories, had been blown out of the water by the information they received about the galazy and the star systems and civilizations.

What sorely disappointed them was the fact that a three way war was taking place among it right now, in which millions had already died in the space of 5 years. Even more depressing was the fact that Alex had been a hero on one side, and eventually turned traitor not once, but also a second time against his second side, before fleeing here.

Regardless of confusion, they needed answers.

"What is the secondary purpose of attempting to capture Alex?"

Raxler questioned Lexa once more, and the female assassin responded in a tired tone: "We were to bring him in to re-establish his role in the KI for the grand plan."

"Re-establish? You mean enslave. And what is this Grand plan?"

"It concerns the role of the KI's flagship, the super battleship Emancipator."

She disclosed the details of the plan, and Raxler stored the critical information, but then curiosity ran through his programming:

"Why are you less resistant to disclose important KI information?"

Lexa hung her head in defeat. She commented sadly: "I'm a clone, my life is less than a year so far. I was grown for the purpose of maintaining Alex in the KI, and I failed Norstith, my father figure. I've outlasted my usefulness, and so I may as well give in to any demands."

Raxler fixed his gaze on the female human before him, and commented: "A clone perhaps, but the search for purpose is one that I and Alex are familiar with, as I am sure your brother is also. Alex taught me that as long as your mind and body are strong and foolproof, you will never outlast your usefulness."

As the Gaang re-entered the throne room, the robot finished speaking to Lexa: "However, the information you just disclosed changes the level of importance my next course of action has." He then strengthened the bonds, and turned to face them.

Aang spoke: "We want to know what you plan to do next, now that Alex is gone."

Raxler calmly stated: "My current primary mission is to release Alex from capture and return him here to command his forces. To do so I shall make use of my prisoner in tracking down him and the dark male apprentice, Xale."

Raxler turned around, and grabbed Lexa by the back of her body suit, pushing her through the door as he said: "In the case of this mission, your assistance is not required, as it is too hazardous to your health, and you should never have been involved in this war in the first place."

Toph stomped a boulder into the air, and held it in place, aimed at the robot and his captive: "You aren't leaving until you tell us everything you know!"

Raxler never faced them as he addressed them all: "Consider this before you think of attacking me. I managed to kill 232 enemy troopers within 10 minutes, I have no internal organic organs to be damaged, and I will be able to incapacitate and perhaps kill each and every one of you before you could even touch me. Are you really willing to take that risk in threatening me?"

As he walked off with his struggling prisoner, Toph launched the boulder at the departing robot. Almost as if sensing it prior to attack, Raxler had ducked to the floor, dropping Lexa, who fell to the floor also, still trapped by her bonds.

Spinning around on the floor, Raxler pulled his plasma rifle to bear, and fired off a stun round at Toph.

Before Toph could send a second attack, she was blown off her feet by a shining blue shot from Raxler's wrist weapon. She fell painfully to the floor, her body temporarily paralysed and weakened, unable to bend.

Katara summoned a water whip, and yelled at Raxler, who was picking up Lexa and about to leave: "What did you do to her?" Raxler walked off, and said: "Self defence. My creator, Alex, gave me strict orders not to harm you even in self defence. Temporarily stunning Ms. Bei Fong does not count as harming her, and she will be fully operational in two hours."

Indeed, Iroh bent over to check Toph, who had lost control of her motor muscles, but was still able to talk. "I can't move!"

Meanwhile, Raxler exited the palace, and with Lexa slung over his shoulder, walked down to the plaza, eventually boarding an awaiting heavy aircraft, one of the last craft to depart the plaza.

He would be among the last to leave the damage site, as most of the destroyed UIP and stolen KI units had been cleared and loaded up with the remaining forces, leaving much less for the locals to clear. The two shattered behemoths had been separated into smaller sections and had been picked up by cargo air and space craft, which were sent in only after the battle ended.

Still, as Raxler boarded the aircraft, with a struggling Lexa in tow, he took note of the amount of craters and scorch marks in the plaza, along with the distant damage done to the city. Thankfully, the walls had been damaged only where Alex had pursued Barricade, and where one Behemoth had fired on Starscream.

With a roar from its jets, the 40 metre aircraft took off and set course fro the island base.

En route, Raxler placed Lexa in the care of 4 heavy trooper units. As he left for the ventral hatch, she asked: "What are you planning on doing with me?"

Raxler activated the hatch sequence, saying: "You're knowledge of KI information unknown to me or my creator will help me greatly in retrieving Alex and your fellow clone, Xale, the latter of whom will become our prisoner, as will you, once you have cooperated enough to help me retrieve them both."

He pressed the button, and the hatch opened.

The wind howled as air from 5000 feet whirled around the cargo bay. Ignoring the wind, the robot jumped out of the hatch, activating his turbofan pack as he did so. Within two seconds of Raxler exiting, the cargo doors shut again.

Going full throttle, Raxler turned south, heading for the Southern Water Tribe. Hopefully the remains of the scout party were still there, and if not, he would question the locals on the salvage crew that came or anything they found should they have disposed of them.

**7th April 2900.**

**Southern Water Tribe.**

Orbiting overhead, Raxler scanned the large village for his target. Unfortunately the remains had mostly been retrieved by the UIP, visible by relatively fresh shuttle landing gear tracks outside the ice walls.

Changing course, Raxler descended rapidly, hoping to question the local populace, of whom he only knew the actual identity of two people in who were present, the chief and his wife.

Anticipating a not so warm welcome, considering how his creator left so destructively and rapidly, Raxler thought as he fired his turbofan pack to slow: "_This can only end badly."_

In the village square, Bato and some younger hunters prepared to set out to hunt on the canoes, to gather fish and seal meat for the evening meal. A sudden drop in sunlight brightness alerted them to something passing overhead quickly.

As Bato looked up, he quickly scrambled backwards, along with the other hunters, as a metallic object landed roughly on the ground, landing on two feet and sliding to a stop on the ice and snow in the town centre. As soon as it stopped, Bato recognized the figure.

It was Alex, in the same suit he was in before he attacked those invaders and flew off to Ba Sing Se just over a week ago.

As the villagers panicked and either fled indoors or surveyed him from what they thought was a safe distance, Alex merely looked at his surroundings, as if searching for something. He moved slowly towards the south entrance, where he crouched over deep track marks left by the 'salvage' group who collected the invaders' bodies 5 days after Alex left.

As Raxler knelt, he scanned the prints, showing they had been formed on the 3

4th April, 2 days before the main UIP force invaded. Obviously a recovery force had come here and retrieved their lost team, and had been uninterrupted on Alex's orders not to engage any UIP forces greater than a recovery team size in this part of the world. For now though, Raxler needed to find those remains that the team had not recovered, which his overhead scans showed were still present here.

As the robot had scanned the prints, Hakoda, Kya, Kanna and Pakku had joined Bato in monitoring Alex, ready for any move he might make against them. A if sensing them prematurely, the young man turned to face them, his black helmet looking blankly at them.

He walked towards them, each step cracking on the snow and ice below him.

Instinctively, Hakoda and Bato raised their spears, and Pakku assumed a defensive stance, while Kanna and Kya took a few steps backwards in fear of Alex. As the male drew within 9 metres of them, Hakoda thrust his spear in Alex's direction, barking: "Not one step closer until you explain why you left as you did!"

Unhindered at all, the male continued. Aiming to stun Alex with a hit from his blunt spear side, Hakoda charged, swinging his spear around at the male like a sword. His aim was true, and Alex could not raise an arm to block in time.

The spear struck. But Alex was not moved at all. The spear broke.

Stunned, Hakoda threw a punch at the advancing male, hoping to knock some sense into him. Impossibly, Alex caught the fist, and twisted the wrist quickly, not hard enough to break it, just hard enough to cause pain, and to flip Hakoda onto his back.

Hakoda felt the wind driven out of him as he landed. Looking painfully up, his eyes widened as he saw Alex effortlessly repel Bato in a similar manner, and also when Alex deployed a stun weapon like those the invaders used, and fire on Pakku.

The waterbending master never stood a chance, and he fell to the floor in a temporary paralysis. In desperation, Kya threw herself between Kanna and the advancing boy. To everyone's surprise, Alex merely shoved them both aside into the snow, and continued into the chief's hut.

Inside, Raxler scanned the room, searching for detections of rare earth minerals used in hi-tech weaponry. In one corner, he detected a large concentration of platinum and carbon fibre. Pulling aside a stack of hunting trophies, Raxler found what he was looking for.

He gathered up the items, a small plasma handgun, a few pieces of advanced armour, and most critically, a personal data device.

He stepped out into the sunlight, and before taking off, he watched the faces of the southern water tribe leadership. Hakoda and Bato were by now recovered from their strikes, and Kya had helped Kanna back up. Pakku was still out of it, immobile but fully aware. Deciding to give them news they would likely want to know, Raxler spoke:

"I assume you wish to know the condition of your children and their friends? Mercifully they were kept safe and unharmed during the battle that unfolded in the Earth Kingdom capital yesterday. They are currently there at the moment, and are helping the city clear up the few traces of the fighting. For now though, I needed these samples you gathered to help me track down the invaders."

His turbofans roaring, Raxler took off, heading east towards the rendezvous point with a heavy aircraft, leaving a very confused and relieved group of water tribe leaders to tend to their stunned waterbending master.

**Island base**

After meeting with the aircraft holding Lexa, Raxler had boarded it and set course for the island base.

Upon arrival, he could see any potentially necessary forces being loaded onto transports, troops, ammunition, fuel, supplies, spare parts, materials and vehicles. In orbit, the Liberator and the rest of the available fleet were almost ready to depart, within the next 6 hours. Two of the four corvettes were destroyed in the battle, and one of the 4 destroyers was heavily damaged, and would remain behind with a second destroyer, one of the two cruisers and the Liberator, in order to undergo repairs and act as a purely orbital battle warship. The remaining two corvettes, the other two destroyers and the last cruiser would make up the force Raxler used to pursue Alex.

Later, aboard the cruiser _Subjugator,_ Raxler stood before Lexa, releasing the bindings from her wrists at last. As soon as she was free, Raxler stated: "I have installed a device onto your suit, only detachable by me or Alex via nanotech adhesive. Should you target any dark matter onto any targets designated friendly by me, or myself, then a strong electric shock shall immobilize you, and will inflict a great deal of pain to you. Cooperate, and no harm shall come to you."

Lexa bitterly realized she had no choice, and submitted. Seeing this, Raxler turned on his heel, staring out the Cruiser's bridge window. He commented: "Weren't you saying that you feel you have failed your master? He told you that should you fail not to return? I might point out that a person who truly cared about his own creations should do well to allow room for error or failure as a learning experience. At this, I must conclude that with your master having abandoned you and your brother, you have lost your purposes, the only reasons you were created."

A single tear fell down the dark girl's cheek as she realized this, and listened as the robotic doppelganger made an offer: "Join with me, serve under Alex, and I am sure he will forgive any transgressions you made. After all, diverging from Norstith's influence may serve well to gain your reputation favour with my creator. If you serve willingly, you will have purpose, a home, one which will never abandon you for simply failing once. Do you accept?" A metal hand, coated in synthetic skin, was offered to her.

For a while, she sat there, considering her next choice, the one that would define her new path. She could turn down the offer, and fight back, giving way to pain or death, unable to use dark matter to fight back, remaining loyal to her master. However, her master told her not to return should she fail, which she and Xale did, showing he only cared for her as a tool. If she joined Raxler, she would be able to rescue her brother, in exchange for helping the robot rescue his creator. If all went well, and she convinced her brother, they could live with Alex, free from oppression and enslavement to the will of a master, free to use their power as they saw fit.

She grasped the hand, shaking it slowly, a thankful smile creeping onto her face. The robot compiled the data, taking note of the gaining of a new ally.

By now, the fleet was ready to depart. Leaving the Liberator and the rest of the fleet behind, the cruiser _Subjugator, _two destroyers and two corvettes powered up their engines and reactors. As they pointed towards the departing fleet's direction, the engine glow began to shimmer more, along with the rest of the vessel images, as the space around it was distorted.

As each vessel was engulfed in the space time bubble, the blurry images accelerated blindingly fast, exceeding lightspeed by many factors. Within two seconds, the pursuit fleet had vanished, the only traces of it being the very faint ion trails from the ion drives.

**9****th**** April 2900**

**UIP invasion fleet, Lead cruiser, high level detention cell 2F**

Two days after being captured, and Alex had long since given up struggling, he had no chance of escaping. His one remaining mechanical limb was chained up, and even if he used his dark matter to slice through his chains, he would not get through the energy field or the metal doors or guards, let alone escape this vessel. Even if he got loose, he would have to wait until they dropped to sublight speed to use a craft to escape, by which time they would have arrived probably deep back in UIP space.

Beside him, Xale silently gazed at the floor, his eyes almost shut, his black haired, golden eyed head hung in defeat. _My goal set by my master is right beside me, yet I'm about to be shipped off to prison or death along with him!_

Pushing these bitter thoughts aside, Xale turned his head to see his cellmate. He spoke: "You realize that we will likely be sentenced to life imprisonment or death?"

Alex spoke without facing Xale: "I already figured that out 2 hours after they put me in here you idiot!"

The dark male then said: "Why did you abandon Norstith? What made you betray him?" Alex spoke slowly: "I was a slave, I was tricked into believing what I was doing was justice, when it was really evil. What work I did in my first life I still have no issues about, but it is the work I did after I killed my father that I had problems with, also the fact that he created you and the other one to replace me should I fail."

Xale added offhandedly: "He said that he would prefer you not fail, and that we really were meant to help you enhance the KI's standpoint. He wanted us to become your own pupils after he finished with us, for you to teach us what you taught yourself along with Norstith's teaching!"

Shocked, Alex revelled in the fact that he misinterpreted what Norstith had said when Alex had eavesdropped on him in the Emancipator's deeper recesses. He then asked: "What has happened since I have been gone with the KI?"

Xale said: "Are you saying your rejoining?" Alex nodded, and said honestly: "I may have overreacted, and I need to set thing straight between myself and Norstith if I can."

Xale said: "The KI has been attacking more aggressively, and the Emancipator has been preparing to fulfil its true role. The test fire on Mars killed only a few dozen people, it was a demonstration. The true role is to attack key worlds, and ultimately, the species homeworlds and the UIP capital, wiping them out one by one until they surrender."

Alex stared at him for a few moments, processing this information. Realizing that the Emancipator, his home for the first few months of his new life, was designed to unleash an unparalleled wave of terror and destruction, he was awed and fearful of what may occur afterwards.

A few minutes of silence passed, until Alex turned to Xale and said: "What is your plan of escape?"

Xale nodded towards the camera on the upper wall: "I used a small dark matter lump to block its visual sensors, and the audio systems have been disrupted while we've been talking by my onboard ECM jammers. No one has heard this conversation but ourselves."

Alex leaned closer, and said: "Keep it up then, and tell me. I only need telling once, so make it as clear as possible."

Xale smirked, and disclosed the plan, confident that it would succeed.

Outside the vessel's armoured hull, the bright tunnel of superlight velocity glimmered as the vessel sped towards its destination, another day left until it reached its destination.


	20. Chapter 20

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 20: Momentum and resolve.**

**10****th**** April 2900. Garonth system, Garonth VII orbit.**

The returning invasion fleet hung in high orbit around Garonth VII. The world was a large colony planet, and had gained notoriety for housing dangerous individuals in exchange for profit.

Of the fleet, only the lead cruiser had arrived, the rest of the fleet had diverted to other postings or repair stations, dropping into real space earlier in the 3 day trip. Aboard the lead cruiser the leaders of the invasion force remained to ensure their two captives were successfully transported into the highest security facility on the planet.

Walking through one of the vessel's massive hallways, the group of 4 were pleased with how the mission turned out. Sru'sky and Trion led the way, followed closely by Barricade and the human fleet commander Mathral. Starscream had been too large to fit in the hallways, and was now stationed in the hangers, getting recharge in his own bay.

"The pair of them will need to be sedated while being transported. Those abilities they demonstrated could be used even if they are fully restrained if they are controlled by psychokinetic control." Trion explained, and Mathral nodded, and commented:

"The sooner I can get them off my ship, the quicker I can sleep soundly at night."

Barricade snorted, and said: "It disappoints me that I cannot instigate my own method of punishment, particularly on Alex. He did quite some damage to my armour plating."

"At least here he will be contained, he cannot harm anyone again." Sru'sky said, relieved that her brother would finally be subdued. As she walked, she was sad that he would likely face life imprisonment, but the fact was that he was an extremely dangerous individual, and that this was necessary.

Contrary to hopes, said extremely dangerous individual(s) were ready to make their next move.

**High level detention cell 2F**

"Ready for this?" Asked Alex, as he concentrated the dark matter into the shapes he needed. Beside him, Xale did the same, saying: "I was ready hours ago."

They waited.

Outside, Fleet commander Mathral patched in the codes, and the detention cell opened. Inside, the stale grey walls gave off no signs of any struggles from their prisoners. Inside, both of them sat on their knees, staring at them with unreadable expressions.

Barricade stomped forwards, aiming his plasma cannon at them as he did so. Trion threw him the electronic key, and Barricade inserted it into the dark male's bindings. They fell free, and the former decepticon scout pushed Xale forwards at gunpoint. Sru'sky came up and undid Alex's bonds, and led him towards the door also.

As they reached the doors, they felt both humans ripple under their fingers, and looking down, they dissolved in black smoke. Exploding into action, Trion aimed his fusion cannon, but felt an unseen force slam his face into the cell wall, scraping some of his cell armour. Barricade was seized by the ankles and dragged to the ground, and soon both mechs had been pinned to the ground, immobilized, by this unseen enemy.

In panic, Mathral pulled Sru'sky towards the cell door, but he felt something slam into his chest, driving the wind from him. Simultaneously, Sru'sky was struck about the head by what could only be compared to an invisible pile driver. Both fell to the floor, and were also quickly invisibly pinned down.

Then, three black tentacles appeared from thin air, and proceeded to grab both electronic keys from Sru'sky and Barricade. The tentacles pulled them over to another side of the cell, where Alex and Xale appeared, having disguised their chains and bodies with dark matter. Their copies had been on long chains, as issued, and had been positioned far from themselves. Unlocking their chains, the Dark Hunter and the Dark Male walked out of the cell, free. As they left the cell, both of them turned to face them.

The Dark Hunter glared at them, and waved his hand, releasing them from their bonds. However, Xale, smirking as he did so, slammed the cell door shut.

All four were now trapped in the cell, and quickly Barricade called on his internal comms channel, saying a critical prisoner escape had just taken place.

The two escapees in question ran down the corridor, making a beeline for the hanger bay.

"**Prisoner escape on level 2! Prisoner escape on level 2! All cruiser security to 2****nd**** level! Lockdown in progress!"**

As the two humans ran down the wide hallway, they saw bulkhead doors shutting at intervals behind them, each closing door closer than the last. Finally, one ahead of them started to close.

"Hurry, or we'll be trapped!" Shouted Alex, and the two of them sprinted towards the door. With inches to spare, the two of them slid underneath the closing bulkhead, and continued down a different corridor, leading up to the third level.

Abruptly, four security mechs appeared ahead, and Alex and Xale were forced to duck behind pillars at the edges of the corridor to not be shot. As the mechs fired at them, Alex quickly peeked around the corner, and summoned his dark matter reserves. The substance snaked towards the closest mech, and yanked it off its feet. At the same time, it formed a tendril, and snatched the mech's assault rifle, throwing it to its master.

Catching the rifle, Alex fired a burst at the group of mechs as he ran to the other side of the corridor, to another pillar for cover. He shot two in the chest, offlining them, and blasted the lower torso off the fourth. On impulse, Xale ran forwards, and summoned a warhammer of dark matter to smash the first mech, before smashing the head of the downed fourth with his boot.

Their enemies destroyed, Alex picked up another rifle, while Xale took two of his own. They needed these weapons, as their own had been confiscated. They would not bother recovering them, and would have to grab what they could on the way.

The two ran towards the front of the cruiser's third level, to the main hanger bay.

Inside the hanger, Starscream came out of recharge at hearing the alarms.

He had already prepped his weapons, and expected the two to come to the hanger to steal an interstellar vessel. He transformed to his fighter mode, and flew out into space, tightly turning and landing on the top of the cruiser, ready to intercept them should they try to escape.

**Cruiser Hanger bay**

"They've got us pinned down!" Yelled Xale as the two ducked behind a large cargo crate.

"Really? I hadn't noticed! Now shut up and help me kill these bastards!" Retorted Ales as he fired a burst from behind cover, killing one security mech. Shaking his head in frustration, Xale leapt up and fired a long barrage at the mechs, destroying 3 and blowing off the legs of a fourth. Another group of mechs closed in, along with a handful of security marines.

Ducking back, Xale said: "I'm running out of ideas and patience!"

Alex looked on, an idea coming to him: "In which case, lets use our dark matter to form a shield around us, and make our way straight through them, killing as many as possible as we go!"

"Finally, a plan which involves us moving." Commented Xale dryly, as he gathered dark matter to utilize. As Alex gathered his own, Xale pointed out: "That heavy fighter, it's a two-seater! We can get away in that!"

Nodding, Alex formed half a sphere of dark matter, and as he and Xale enveloped themselves in a combined dark sphere, they walked towards the fighter, the plasma fire ricocheting off the dark ball to hit elsewhere. Anyone who got within 5 metres of the sphere was hurled away or ripped in two by dark tendrils sprouted from the sphere.

After a minute, the two reached the fighter, having taken out all but 3 of the mechs and 2 of the marines along the way. As they climbed in, Alex kept a dark shield up, but he fired his rifle through a small gap in the shield, killing the rest of the mechs and wounding the two marines.

As soon as they were both in, Xale manned the turret, and Alex took the pilot seat. Starting up the craft, Alex saw the fighter was not one he was used to flying, but the controls were simple enough to understand, aided by helpful onboard guidance software.

The heavy fighter lifted off, and with a burst of its fusion thrusters, rocketed out into space through the hanger's shields, which allowed only relatively slow moving objects through.

The fighter curved tightly, hugging the rear hull of the cruiser, and flew towards the stern of the ship, away from the cruiser's main defence hardpoints. However, from atop the cruiser's upper hull, another heavy fighter detached, and sped off towards them, firing off a missile as it came in.

Alarms rang in the cockpit as the scanners picked an up incoming missile. Employing electronic countermeasures, Alex pulled up hard on the craft, causing the missile to streak below them, its systems fried by the electronic attack. From behind, Xale yelled: "Incoming fighter, fast from behind!"

Looking at the HUD, Alex saw that the IFF designated the 'friendly' as Wing commander Starscream. Alex tensed, knowing he had picked a fight with Cybertron's best pilot. He fired full thrusters, and punched in codes needed for the FTL jump to a nearby nebula 60 light years away, along with two other destinations to be jumped to immediately afterwards. He was going to fight, to run away.

Taking the initiative, Xale powered the turret, and opened fire on the craft. The laser fire arced through space, the bolts all missing the fighter. Looking at the gunnery HUD, Xale saw that the IFF was stopping any shots being fired that it calculated would hit Starscream, as he was designated friendly. This was bad, as they were unable to fire on the approaching mech.

Xale bellowed in panic: "We can't fire on him. He's a friendly target, IFF stops us!"

"SHIT!" Yelled Alex, both at the realization, and as Starscream fire off another missile. Pulling 8g, the fighter rolled and pulled back, the missile rocketing overhead harmlessly. All the while both craft fired thrusters, meaning the craft always accelerated.

As the computer calculated the first jump, Alex was fighting to keep the fighter in one piece, as the brutally determined mech fired on them with missiles and laser fire.

_You won't escape me, here you're outmatched! _These gleeful thought crossed Starscream's processor as he let loose another barrage at the fighter. To his delight, the barrage grazed the fighter's port wing, burning off a large segment.

As the laser fire tore into the port wing, Xale had lost his usual composure, and banged the wall between him and the cockpit: "HE'S GAINING! GET US OUT OF HERE!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN TRYING FOR THIS WHOLE FUCKING FIGHT!" Yelled Alex, as he noticed not only Starscream gaining, but also the cruiser turning to bear its broadside weapons to bear. Finally though, a confirmation of a plotted jump beeped.

Not wasting another nanosecond, Alex smashed the jump button. Within a second, they were engulfed in the warp bubble, and sped off at many times lightspeed.

**Cruiser Bridge**

"**The prisoners escaped to FTL velocity**!" Screeched Starscream over the coms network. Fleet Commander Mathral kicked the comms terminal in anger, and yelled to the navigation: "Prep the ship for the jump, we're going after them!"

"Sir, we can't pursue. We're too low on fuel, one other purpose of stopping in Garonth VII's orbit was to repair and resupply." The Commander seethed as he heard the navigation officer say that. He then muttered darkly: "Send out ships to pursue them, keep them on the run so we eventually catch them."

"**I'll lead the pursuit squadron, I have their bearings downloaded from the cruiser's scanners." **After this last statement, Starscream cancelled his channel, and went into a sublight drift, in a geosynchronous orbit around the planet.

Sru'sky thundered to the bridge crew: "We must recapture them! Failure means losing two valuable sources of information on the KI, and the freedom of two war criminals."

Trion boomed: "FIND THEM!"

**Liberator.**

The battleship AI rang out in the command bridge. Mentally commanding to hear it, the ship AI broadcasted over the speakers for all to hear.

"**This is a code red alert to all nearby UIP vessels. Two high level prisoners have escaped en route to facility in the Garonth system. Individuals identified as unnamed male KI commander, and war criminal Alex. Immediate recapture priority."**

Raxler processed this new information. He turned to Lexa, who was under watch by the nearby guards despite agreeing to help. "My logic suggests that Alex would retreat back to the Solaris system, to the island base. I require information regarding the likely destination should Xale lead him astray."

"Xale will likely lead Alex to Norstith, aboard the Emancipator. It navigates among locations in the Teranthos Nebula to avoid detection by staying in one place. Find the Emancipator, and you'll find them."

Nodding, the robot double signalled to the Liberator's crew.

**Maintain connection to Solaris base communications in the event of Alex returning. And set course for the Teranthos Nebula.**

Outside, the small fleet altered the course on which their space-time bubbles moved, heading for a distant nebula deep in the attrition space between the Alliance and the UIP, also known as KI space.

**11****th**** April 2900**

**Interstellar space**

As soon as the fighter dropped out from its third FTL jump, Alex slumped in his seat, confident they had lost their pursuers.

"I think we lost them." Stated Xale, who had detected no pursuers, having lost them on the second jump at least. For now they were safe. Next on their agenda was the Teranthos nebula, to meet with Norstith.

As Alex engaged the FTL one last time, Xale dipped his head in sadness as he remembered leaving his sister behind. He silently pledged to locate her as soon as possible.

The space around the craft distorted, and it disappeared from sight.

**11****th**** April 2900**

**Ba Sing Seh**

In the space of the five days following the battle between Alex's forces and the UIP invaders, the city had recovered almost fully. While the UIP had quickly fled after collecting or salvaging any bodies and equipment, Alex's forces had collected every bit of machinery, special metal plating and destroyed unit, vehicle or behemoth, and even cleared the remnants of the UIP forces. After that, they had departed quickly, and by the end of the day, only the craters and structural damage of the battle was left.

Thankfully, with a city of earthbenders, and with the civilians having mostly evacuated the inner ring before the battle heated up, civilian casualties were minimal, at around only 100 or so.

The inner wall had been repaired where the Behemoth had fired on Starscream, and where Barricade and Alex had broken into the middle ring. The houses, markets and palace grounds were nearly restored, and soon only the memories of the day and of the limited lost ones would remain.

In the case of a certain group, it was a tense few days of rebuilding, recovery and getting facts right. For Zuko, despite the fierce battle that had erupted two days before, the peace trade meeting had gone on as planned.

As the Gaang had regrouped at the Jasmine Dragon, they found themselves thinking of the way which Raxler had abruptly left with his prisoner, and had taken off in pursuit of the invaders. By the story they had to go on, Alex's fictional past had not been entirely false, just altered in places.

He had sought to help for the greater good by any means, causing people to reject him. He had murdered his father in a blind rage, and had tortured one of his closest friends to the brink of death as vengeance for killing him. He had killed thousands personally, and had become an outcast.

Toph hugged her legs to her chest, back against one of the walls. She thought to herself in sadness: _He lied because he was afraid we'd reject him if we knew the truth._

Zuko muttered aloud: "Its ironic that we're in here, at the place we met Alex when he came with my mother, thinking about how he lied to us."

Sokka spoke up: "We thought we knew him, we let him befriend us and help us for nearly four months, and it turns out he's lied to us this whole time!"

"Actually, I knew he was hiding something this whole time." Spoke Toph softly. Everyone looked at her, and she continued: "I could feel his heartbeat, or a lack of one. He asked me not to tell anyone, except Aang who already knew from earthbending."

Aang hung his head in shame, and Toph finished: "Now I see that by what Raxler said, Alex had no heartbeat since he had no heart. The changes his teacher did to his body after bringing him back are a part of that."

Sokka understood: "Yeah. Raxler said he is a normal human, but one feature he briefly mentioned is a constant driving of blood in his body. That's why he had no pulse, since that pumper always turned evenly, not beating like a heart."

Katara chimed in: "Raxler also said Alex used some sort of spy machines very high up to map out messenger hawk routes to find the fire rebel base, not manually tracking them."

Mai asked: "What about Alex first coming to this tea shop with Zuko's mom?"

Iroh spoke up, taking a sip from his tea cup: "No. According to Raxler, that meeting along Alex's way was purely by chance. Other than that, the ways in which he has helped our little group in many ways was due to his efforts, not chance."

Iroh stood up, and said: "I will go make some more tea. It will help calm our minds from the trauma a few days ago." As he walked to the tea shop's kitchen, Toph stood up, and walked out into the back courtyard, saying she needed to be alone for a while. Concernedly, Katara followed her out after a few minutes.

Outside, Toph sat on one of the stone steps, staring numbly at her feet. In the courtyard, the scorch marks left by one of the UIP landing craft were still visible. Slowly, Katara walked up and sat down next to the blind teenager, whom had sensed the waterbender approaching easily. Toph softly spoke aloud a few seconds after Katara sat down:

"He said he loved me. He loved me, and now he's gone, and we can't do anything ourselves," A single tear slid down her face, and Katara pulled her into a hug, knowing that if Toph cried she was really hurting. Katara sat there, letting her tomboyish friend shed her sadness away in her embrace. She asked Toph: "Did you love him?"

Toph pulled away slightly, and nodded, and said: "He was always there for us, always willing to help in his own way. I thought he had been through a lot already, but now I see he's been through so much more than I thought. I truly admire him for that." She took a deep breath, and pressed on: "But he also seemed interested in me as he became of our friends. He always was supportive, but in his own way. He was witty, smart, strong, but afraid. He was like me, he didn't want to be seen as weak, and he always placed others before himself. But now h-he'll never know I feel this way."

Fresh tears fell down her cheeks, and the blind bandit cried, with Katara holding her comfortingly.

A few minutes passed, and eventually Toph and Katara came inside, the former having gotten a lot off her chest. As they came inside, Aang commented:

"We can't possibly pursue them for Alex. They have technology far ahead of us, and Raxler said not to interfere with his mission to retrieve Alex."

Sokka sat down, and said dejectedly: "I guess we wait to hear about what happens eventually."

**12****th**** April 2900**

**Teranthos Nebula, KI central fleet.**

"I never though I'd come back here so soon." Said Alex, as he saw the immense shape of the Emancipator out of the cockpit. In the rear cockpit, Xale sat smiling tom himself, as Norstith would punish Alex, reward him, and likely send Xale off to find Lexa next.

As the fighter was cleared for landing by Xale, it pulled into one of the smaller docking bays. Passing through the vacuum shielding, it hovered into its landing area, and touched down on the landing gear, shutting down its engines.

Climbing out, Xale saw the guards approaching, armed with plasma rifles and knives. He signalled to them: "Stop! Alex is cooperating with me, and he will follow me to Norstith outside of containment or restraint!" Following command, the guards backed off, but would keep within firing distance of the pair of them, lest the 'guest' turn rogue once more.

Landing on his feet, Alex dismissed his dark matter arm, and his severed left arm became visible as a stump. His left foot had taken serious damage, not enough to stop its use, but had burnt away all the synthetic flesh there.

The two boarded an elevator, and as it ascended, Xale thought in a satisfied state of mind: _I did it, I brought in Alex. Norstith will be pleased._

Alex meanwhile, calmly accepted his fate: _I chose to end it this way. I can no longer run and let all this happen. It must end._

On the massive bridge of the Emancipator, Norstith stroked the blue and grey feathers on his arms in anticipation. His apprentice, Xale, had returned, with Alex. Although the success of Alex's retrieval had not gone exactly to plan, with both of their captures and Lexa being MIA, the plan had succeeded.

It had to succeed. Those three were critical to his plans for the KI, his superiors had ordered him to make it so. As such, with Alex returned under his own choice [which surprised Norstith], the next step was to rescue Lexa, who was still on the backwater world Alex had been hiding on.

As Norstith turned to face the viewport, he failed to see that Xale and Alex had exited the elevator, and were now on another corridor, leading to the elevator to the bridge.

The memories of the ship's layout and interior flooded back to Alex, and he looked at the fork in the corridor coming up. 20 feet, 10 feet, 5 feet, 1 foot.

As soon as the fork came up, Xale made the move to the left, heading for the bridge elevator. Alex moved left also, but had reformed his dark left arm, and had gathered a large amount. He raised the dark hand, and fired.

Xale had never expected such an attack. The dark arm erupted in size, pushing him with near bone crushing force down the corridor and into the elevator. As the doors shut, the dark matter retreated, and Xale moved to get on his feet, face contorted in rage. With great speed, Alex booted Xale in the face, breaking his nose. The dark apprentice fell back, and Alex smashed the button, closing the elevator doors, and sending it up to the bridge floor.

Turning on his heel, Alex ran at full speed down the corridor, following directions to the stern of the vessel, descending in levels towards engineering.

The elevator doors, opened, and Norstith strode into the elevator, accompanied by a group of elite troopers. He yanked Xale to his feet, and he barked: "Do not let him escape. He is too dangerous to leave conscious and unrestrained."

The doors shut, and master and apprentice descended back to the access corridor, ready to pursue.

Alex ran further into the depths of the gargantuan vessel, through countless hallways, endless stairwells and proceeded further towards the key systems of the vessel. He had encountered many enemy troopers along the way, and had slaughtered each one rapidly and salvaged any weapons they had that he could use.

As he rounded yet another corner, he carried with him the UIP assault rifle he had picked up after escaping the cell, a grenade launcher and a heavy pistol. His mechanical arms had had their heavy, exterior weapons removed by the UIP, but his lighter weapon on his right arm, a built in multirole rifle was positioned. Its fire could be altered for close range shotgun style blasts, medi

um range assault rifle fire, or even long range sniper style fire. Combined with his two swords and a left arm substituted with Dark matter, and Alex was far from defenceless.

From space, near the Emancipator, the stolen KI fleet dropped into real space, already cloaked to avoid detection by visual or sensor equipment. The Liberator led the small fleet, and the orders had been transmitted under radio silence.

One of the two corvettes de-cloaked, and began transmitting a high strength electromagnetic pulse signal, disabling all communications of certain frequencies. Those frequencies were the ones the KI employed. During this jamming, a lower frequency signal was sent out from the cloaked Liberator, dozens of miles from the massive super battleship's hull.

Its recipient was making his way towards the engineering ward.

As Alex leapt off the stairs, he stumbled to a halt as he saw that, amazingly, someone was contacting him on his private frequency. He checked the ID scanner, and he saw that the caller was none other than Raxler.

He picked up the channel, and spoke into the channel: "Raxler?"

"**Affirmative."**

"How did you find me!"

"**Followed ion trails and space time distortions caused by retreating UIP fleet. Change in course caused by received intelligence of your escape to the Teranthos Nebula. I currently request a clarification of your intentions."**

A few seconds passed as Alex sought to describe how he had planned this. He spoke:

"I came here to destroy this vessel. The plans for it are too destructive for me to allow it to exist. I am going to sabotage the main reactor and destroy the entire vessel."

"**Question, how do you intend to survive the explosion?"**

"I will be unable to escape the ship, the sabotage will be nearly instant. My method of escape shall be via subject A76 if I cannot find a way to remote detonate the core."

"**Understood, subject A76 compatible with plan. Permission to make a comment."**

"Um, go ahead."

"**The female apprentice, Lexa, has changed allegiances to your cause. I can confirm this. She requests that if we turn Xale, we will gain a valuable ally, as he shares somewhat similar sentiments to herself on the matter of Norstith's tutelage."**

A few seconds followed, and Alex knew time was short, and decided not to ask how she had come to change sides. He asked:

"How do you expect me to get him out to you? Boot him out, the, ship." Alex trailed off as he saw a hallway feature further down, as an idea for Xale's 'retrieval' came to him. He radioed in:

"I'll get him out to you. I'll place beacon with the transport he'll be using to escape. And be sure to have stun guns set on him as he exits it in the Liberator. I don't think he'll be happy with how I got him to go."

The radio dropped dead, and as Raxler studied the Emancipator, Lexa stood confused, and asked: "What do you think he'll do to get Xale to us?"

Raxler stood motionless, and said in a flat tone: "I have learnt that organic beings think in a nonlinear fashion, and are unpredictable. Judging by how he seemed distracted mid message, I have confidence that he will succeed. It is just the method in which he will execute it by that I cannot comprehend."

He issued the order over comms to a large squad of heavy troopers to head for the main hanger, ready to receive a welcome boarding party when the time came.

Adfter knocking out the localized interior sensors, Alex had run up the access hallways and shot two dozen more guards, luring them to him, and had moved the bodies inconspicuously to form a trail leading to the lower engineering decks. Here, the search party would split up, and hopefully Xale and Norstith would follow, being most likely to stand a chance against Alex, at least according to them.

With the last body in place, Alex ducked into a visible corner, far from where anyone would traverse the hallway. He used his dark matter to go invisible, and waited for his folly to approach. The trail of bodies continued on for much farther, but he needed them to come down this hallway to get Xale alone.

Now, Alex waited, the echoes of footsteps on the access hallway stairs becoming gradually louder.

Ahead of them, the platoon of guards ran ahead, armed to the teeth, ready to attack Alex should they see him. Scans showed Alex was in the engineering ward, but the cameras and sensors had been knocked out either by force or by jamming signal frying their circuits. They were running into Alex's hiding spot blind.

Ahead, Xale and Norstith saw the platoon commander spot a trail of murdered ward guards, obviously a destructive trail set by Alex. The commander, a female Leg'hrul, shouted: "The trails seems to lead to the life support systems, near the rear of the engineering ward."

"He must be looking to kill everyone aboard the ship, or at least force them to fight at a disadvantage in exosuits." Said another guard. Norstith signalled: "Split up. I shall lead 3 of you with me down the left corridor. Commander, you lead 5 down the middle, and Xale shall lead the remaining 3 down the right corridor."

Agreeing, the group split.

Ahead, hearing this exchange, the Dark Hunter ran silently towards the nearest access to the right corridor, waiting for his soon to be captive to draw near enough. He turned a corner, and ran down the hall, not even blinking as the bulkhead doors opened and shit for him.

Ducking into a corner, and staying invisible, Alex stood, poised to strike, as he watched Xale and his 3 guards begin approaching him down the corridor. On the opposite side of the hallway to Alex lay the key to getting Xale to the Liberator, which itself was still cloaked over dozens of miles from the Emancipator and the KI fleet.

The key itself was activated, as it always would be, and everything was in place.

The 3 guards and Xale approached, and Alex formulated a quick strike plan, and counted down the seconds to the attack.

Xale would be swayed to join Alex's cause once aboard the Liberator, whether he liked it or not.

**Hi, I'm back. Been dealing with a load of school related nonsense, and I've also been slightly on a mind block. This story is near finished, and the next in this trilogy is nearly fully developed, though I am ashamed to admit that by this stage, I have not yet come up with a ****ing good title.**

**So far, these two stories in this trilogy have come out nicely. The first story was slightly skipping in timespan, as it spanned 20 years. This one spans less than a year, so I could give a more in depth story.**

**The only fault these stories have that I am constantly annoyed with myself are those little grammatical errors that you don't notice until you've posted them, and then you can't be bothered to correct them online as you're already writing the next chapter or story. I'm sure I'm not the only author with this problem.**

**Also, about reviews. C'mon, I see stories that get tons more reviews than my own that have been posted AFTER mine, so could you please spread word of my writing? The reviews I have so far are all praising, or constructive criticism [which I welcome]. I can't improve my storytelling without third party suggestions. **

**I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! DON'T TRY HIDING! YES YOU READING THIS RIGHT NOW, HIT THE DAMN BUTTON BELOW AND GIVE YOUR ****ING REVIEW! I'M DESPERATE!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 21: Hidden Secrets and Cataclysm.**

**12****th**** April 2900.**

**Teranthos Nebula, Emancipator, KI fleet.**

Sighting another guard body ahead in the hallway, Xale rushed through the engineering evacuation corridor. He ran past the body, commanding the three troopers to keep pace with him as they pursued.

One then gave a choke, and as the other two sounded as if they were spinning around, three crunching snaps were heard. Reacting instinctively, Xale spun to face the noise, not bothering to engage his helmet.

In his vision, he saw the three bodies still falling, their helmeted heads twisted 180 degrees, the blue Kro'nogri blood seeping out from under the torn seams. Before the bodies hit the steel flooring, the air shimmered slightly in front of Xale.

Within a second of spinning to the noise, Xale was smashed in the side of the face, hard.

The impact smashed Xale's helmet with a sickening crack, and sent him hurtling into the corridor walls, his helmet back shattering from the joint fist and wall impact, destroying with it Xale's comms channel.

Clutching his head, and likely to now have a mild concussion, Xale tried to retaliate, summoning a fistful of dark matter. Then, a piercing pain impacted his abdomen and genitals, and with a cry of pain, Xale crumpled to the floor, painfully subdued.

Before he could register what happened, he felt himself dragged over the bodies of his guards quickly, and the sound of an opening hatch.

Alex reappeared, and unceremoniously threw Xale into the escape pod. As Xale flickered his eyes open, he tried to stagger up, but his mind was damaged by the head injury, so he could not use dark matter as a weapon for now.

Alex smashed the launch button, and flipped Xale a pair of middle fingers as the pod doors slammed shut, and the mass accelerators launched the pod into space. Inside, Xale uttered a croaking gurgle of indignation, which would have been a scream of frustration if not for the pain.

Alex clenched a fist, and smiled this success. He opened his encrypted comms channel to the Liberator.

"**Xale has been trapped in the escape pod, and is ejecting to coordinates 23-46-75, engage Liberator's drives for an intercept, follow it and only capture when a safe distance from the fleet, to allow time for capture and escape to FTL"**

"**Confirmed, Raxler out."**

Ignoring the shrinking speck of light, Alex ran down the halls, making a beeline for the reactor core, using shortcuts he had learnt during his time spent living aboard by studying ship schematics. He would download any useful data from the mainframe and transmit it to the Liberator just before it and its fleet escaped, and then he would proceed to the reactor core to sabotage it, and if possible, find a way out.

In the case of the latter, Alex was escaping one way or another.

By the time the Emancipator registered the unauthorized escape pod launch, it had already travelled 6 kilometres from the dreadnought. Aboard, the navigation, comms and thruster controls had been hacked and blocked by everyone but Alex or Raxler.

As the escape pod travelled out further, the stolen cloaked KI ships fired thrusters for a pursuit ad intercept trajectory. By the time the pod was aboard the Liberator, they would be 500 kilometres away from the fleet, and the cloaking could be maintained even while taking aboard the pod using the mass effect capture fields.

Aboard the bridge, Raxler and Lexa studied the onboard camera images of Xale in the pod. Lexa was shocked that her twin had been treated this way, and asked: "Why was he so rough on him?"

Raxler turned to the cloaking systems display, stating: "A logical retort for you, do you think he would comply merely on negotiation terms from one such as Alex?" Silenced by common sense, Lexa muttered aloud: "At least he's alive and we can capture him. I know I can convince him."

She turned to see the Emancipator, the dreadnought and its accompanying fleet becoming gradually more distant as Raxler's cloaked fleet fired thrusters to pursue the pod. She said aloud: "I guess we've done out part, the rest is up to Alex now. He knows this is a suicide mission, and it amazed me he'll take it on so willingly. I guess after he was near killed, death didn't mean as much to him."

Raxler would have smirked if he were human. Alex had commanded he not disclose subject A76 until the appropriate time came. Even so, if Alex died, this conflict was far from finished.

Hopefully, Alex would gather useful data before escaping, one way or another.

As soon as the alarms for the escape pod launch sounded, Norstith was enraged. He thought that Alex had gone and escaped on the pod.

_How could I have been so foolish? What other reason could he be down here?_

Continuing down the corridor, Norstith opened his comms channel:

"Xale. I need a status report."

No response.

"XALE, REPORT!"

Silence. This was impossible. If Xale was being blocked, there would at least be static. The only conclusion was that the comms receiver in his helmet had been destroyed, which usually occurred with the destruction of the headwear.

Norstith slumped, the sadness of Xale's likely death gripping his every bone and feather. The double betrayal of Alex, the disappearance of Lexa, and now the death of Xale, mounted atop the much earlier deaths of his sister and his niece, was almost too much for the middle aged Leg'hrul to bear.

He had trained Alex, raised him in the second body and raised Xale and Lexa also, all to cause the plans of his superiors to come to fruition. Once Alex fled, those plans were heavily altered, with only Xale and Lexa acting as the keys to the goals.

But now, every plan he had had helped with, every achievement, promised award, was meaningless. He had failed his superiors, the KI would likely shatter without the significant funding the support of the Emancipator and the projects to resurrect Alex and create Xale and Lexa received alone.

"**Warning! Unauthorized lockdown of main reactor and systems ward!"**

At the alarm, Norstith stepped up, realizing that the escape pod was a ploy, and that Alex had all along been heading for the main reactor and mainframe centre. There, Alex could inflict all sorts of damage to the KI. Steal data, disable the vessel, upload a virus, or even worse, sabotage this vessel.

Wasting no time, the blue and grey Leg'hrul sped off, eager to have a little 'reunion' with his greatest apprentice, and greatest betrayal and failure.

"Begin data search."

After he engaged the download, Alex pointed his gun towards the bulkhead door 50 metres away. He was downloading data to transmit to the Liberator, concerning battle plans, vehicle/weapon blueprints, KI leadership and any espionage info the KI had on the Alliance or the UIP.

The bulkhead door had been sealed from the inside, and the console smashed. Now the only way through was to cut through. On the other side, the guards fired away uselessly, venting frustration as they awaited special laser cutting equipment.

Inside, after 10 minutes, the data transfer was complete. Having gone directly into the mainframe, little firewall programs were encountered in the automatic hack. Alex comm'd the Liberator in encrypted code once more:

"**Sending critical KI data to Liberator's mainframe. Analyse once back at base."**

"**Affirmative. Escape pod captured, I am currently on route with Lexa to ventral hanger to begin debriefing and interrogating him, under the attempt to convince him to change affiliations."**

"**Excellent. Note, destruction of reactor core shall annihilate the entire store of antimatter, and also give way to runaway fusion reaction. Scans show estimated blast power at 5.7 gigatons equivalent. Likely to consume rest of surrounding fleet in fireball, giving way to many smaller detonations."**

"**Acknowledged. Fleet shall jump into warp immediately following data transfer, excluding the stealth destroyer Relentless, which shall remain behind until final data transfer of non-KI data complete."**

"**Transfer data to A76 as soon as possible. Good luck. Over and out."**

Turning off the comms channel, Alex faced the data console, seeing that the data was one minute from completion of transfer. He then looked back at the door, and using his dark left arm, transported several detonation charges with dark tendrils to the doorway, placing them on the floor.

Just as the data finished transferring, Alex yanked the transfer device off the console, in time to see the doors being sliced through with the heavy laser equipment. He armed the proximity charges, and ran deeper into the bowels of the Emancipator.

As Alex stopped briefly at a corridor intersection, he thought to himself:

_I should have got a map first._

A rapid series of explosions two decks above got him moving quickly to the main reactor room.

The moment the data transfer stopped, the fleet minus the Relentless charged their FTL drives for the jump to warp. A jump to a star within the cluster their base was located in, 20 light years from Solaris, and then a second jump, would bring them back to the base.

Aboard, just as the Liberator made the leap to supralight velocity, a dazed and injured Xale looked up to see the escape pod door opening, and in his darkening vision, he saw a face that made him smile in relief. As Lexa pulled him out, he fell into unconsciousness.

_She's alive. That's good._

**Emancipator, lower hull.**

The moment the troopers had cut open the bulkhead doors they had charged in, weapons drawn and armed. They failed to see the proximity charges around the doorframe and floor.

Before Norstith could come in after them, a rapid succession of explosions went off in the doorway, burning and damaging the swarming guards with burning shrapnel. No one survived, except for one guard, who lay on the ground, blood pouring out of a neck wound in buckets. He had no chance of medical rescue.

Norstith stabbed the suffering guard, putting him out of his misery. He hated seeing things suffer, and would do whatever it took to end suffering, even if it meant ending that thing's existence.

Running into the mainframe room, Norstith saw that the main terminal had been hacked, and a download tool had been discarded, and smashed to pieces, and left nearby. With horror, he realized that Alex probably already transmitted the data if he had destroyed the data storage device.

First betraying him personally, then a second time, but now the entire KI organization by exposing secrets. Now Alex had gone too far.

Using his avian sense of smell, and a link to onboard motion sensors, Norstith saw where Alex's ultimate goal was. The main reactor.

The horror of what Alex could be about to do finally sunk in, and Norstith sprinted in pursuit. He knew Alex would do anything if it suited his moral desires, but perhaps committing mass murder, destruction and suicide in one go? Now Norstith thought that perhaps Alex betrayed him due to insanity.

After navigating the labyrinth of corridors, Alex stood on the service balcony, looking on at the massive reactor. The structure itself was a kilometre in diameter, and the main service room Alex was in was 100 metres long, and 500 metres wide. Between him and the balconies adjacent to the reactor core was a two track monorail of a single moving platform each, with both tracks circumnavigating the massive core in a tunnel which encircled the superstructure.

Alex activated the console, calling the platform to take him to the 4 different fuel feeders. He would place devices on them and trigger a mass overload, creating a runaway thermonuclear reaction.

One track's moving platform pulled up, and Alex stepped on, but froze as he heard a sound of banging footsteps from the corridor he had just come from. Panicking, he smashed the console, driving the platform out of view and towards the first of four consoles.

Norstith ran onto the balcony, his feathers ruffled from the running and stress. He had heard one of the mobile rail platforms drive off, and Norstith would be unable to catch Alex in that direction. He hailed the second monorail platform, and crossed over the track's level crossing, boarded the platform, and set off in the opposite direction to Alex. As the platform accelerated, Norstith summoned dark matter from his own stores, and drew his broadsword and built in plasma shotgun.

On the opposite side, Alex raced off on the platform, having placed the second charge on the second platform. The charges were on a trigger switch, programmed to detonate when Alex's heartbeat stopped, at his death, or when Alex purposefully pressed the button. The overload would take only 2 minutes, at which point the magnetic barriers of the reactor would no longer hold the excess energy of the overpowered fusion reaction.

As the platform slowed for the third platform, Alex grabbed the third charge, and prepared to place it. The platform stopped, and Alex stepped forwards, placing the device inconspicuously underneath the console, and then turning to the platform once more.

As he turned, he heard a guttural, avian shriek, and saw a massive broadsword heading for his head, glowing with dark matter.

Yelling in shock, Alex leapt to the side, Norstith's broadsword stabbing into the welded titanium of the reactor casing. Norstith fired a wave of dark matter at Alex, while simultaneously pulling his blade free. The dark tsunami threw Alex onto the same platform he had used. Firing a few shots from the salvaged rifle, Alex hit the console, driving off around the track once more, headed for the final console.

To his horror, Norstith was hot on his heels, giving chase on the other monorail platform, the inner platform. As such, Norstith drew close enough to Alex to strike. A corkscrewing beam of dark matter tendrils fired at Alex, who diverted them to the side, forming a shield with them as he did. Seeing that Alex needed to be dealt with more fiercely, Norstith unleashed wave after wave of dark tendrils, each wave more powerful as he drew closer on the agonizingly slowly moving platforms.

Again and again Alex diverted and absorbed the dark matter into the shield, each time harder than the last. The dark matter tendrils began to cut and slash at his bionic arms as Norstith tried to take control of Alex's formed shield, the full force withheld by Alex fighting for the dark matter's control at the same time.

Within range, Norstith pulled out his shotgun, and opened fire. The blasts acted on top of the Leg'hrul's dark matter strikes, shattering the Dark Hunter's defensive shield. Before he could fire a finishing blast, Norstith saw Alex thrust dark matter left arm forwards, the dark replacement limb wrenching the Leg'hrul's weapon from his grasp. Before the human could make use of it, Norstith had crushed the barrel with a dark vicegrip, and had also once more readied his broadsword.

From the corner of his eye, Alex saw the fourth console appearing. He drew a salvaged plasma knife, extending it to its maximum length of two feet. He formed his dark left arm into a shield, and used it to block Norstith's vicious overhead strike with the large sword. Unexpectedly, Alex needed to use his remaining arm to brace the dark shield against Norstith's pressing attack. The avian master bore a look of hurt and intense anger at him, and said:

"You are not the only one with mechanical enhancements. My concealed mechanical exoskeleton can easily match anything your mechanical limbs can throw." He pushed down even harder onto the dark shield, causing Alex to bend onto his knees slightly. Alex and Norstith bore steel gazes into each other, and the Leg'hrul continued:

"I should have expected your betrayal the moment you began to question your motives and my orders. I brought you back from the dead, I made you more powerful than you could have ever become in a normal life! And how do you repay me? By attempting to destroy the organization I spent the last 9 years establishing!"

"And why were you establishing it anyway? Don't say it was for 'the greater good', I've seen through that lie now thanks to a discussion with your apprentice, Xale! This organization is not a vigilante group, we are terrorists, perhaps even a third faction in this bloody war! Ever since we joined, things have gotten worse non-stop! I'm here to ensure this core fleet never fulfils its ultimate objective for the KI!"

"You seriously think this is all for the Knight Initiative! This war will end the way we want, but also the way my superiors want also! For one so smart, you may have noticed a tendency for your missions, and any other KI missions, to focus on the UIP, rather than the Alliance!"

A stunned silence overcame both combatants, even as the platform finally stopped adjacent to the final fuel feeder platform. Alex asked: "You've been deceiving me all this time. I've been serving one side still?"

"Correct! All that time you were mainly fulfilling missions set by my superiors within the Alliance defence and intelligence councils! The missions attacking the Alliance were a way to rid the Alliance of secretly uncovered 'undesirable' elements. The UIP victims were still guilty of their crimes, but my superiors wished them gone to lose tactical expertise in the UIP forces and government, in preparation for the next stage of this war!"

"You deceived me into serving the Alliance? I betrayed the UIP, thinking I was helping them, when what I was doing was accelerating their downfall? How could you do such a thing? I placed my trust in you! You admitted you viewed me as a son!"

"And I did! You, Xale and Lexa I viewed as my children, my pupils. I should have told you of the latter twos' existence, and this whole situation could have been avoided!"

"That still doesn't change the fact that you used all three of us! Why did you create us, bring me back?

"Because my superiors told me to do so! They told me to create three ideal warriors, with you to lead two near duplicates as an elite team!"

"Why would you follow them? Didn't your sister and your nephew die in an attack by an Alliance member, the Krono'gri!"

"Because if I did not, they would kill my other sister and her family, husband and two children! I HAD NO CHOICE IF THEY WERE TO SURVIVE!"

Again, a stunned silence. Alex spoke: "A hostage threat is what makes you do these things?"

"I had two sisters. One is already dead, along with her husband and child. I can't bear the loss of my other sibling and her family, and I will do anything to ensure that the Alliance doesn't kill them."

The Leg'hrul eased up the strength slightly, allowing Alex to stand upright again. The middle aged master seemed much older now, less ominous, more desperate now. Alex shook his head, and said: "You have your drive to succeed, and I have my own. Regardless of this news, I cannot let you go through with this plan!"

Alex swung his dark matter arm around, slamming it into Norstith's side like a sledgehammer. The force nearly shattered one of the avian's hollow ribs, and sent him nearly falling down the deep pit which the monorail track ran above. The master had grabbed the track, stopping his fall, and a feral snarl crossed his face as he saw the human rush for the last console. Roaring with ferocity he had not known he'd had, Norstith launched himself at Alex, engulfed in a blazing dark meteor envelope.

Adrenaline seeping through his every organic fibre, Alex managed to slap the small device underneath the console, right before he felt something cold, yet powerful, smash into his torso, breaking one of his ribs. Wind driven from him, and crying out as one of his ribs snapped, Alex grappled desperately as the avian master drove both of them off the platform edge. Reacting quickly, Alex saw the original entrance platform nearby, and started his turbofan pack.

Alex swooped upwards, heading for the entry platform, glancing back to see his former master fall to his death in the 200 metre drop of the reactor chamber. However, Norstith twisted in mid air, and the panels on the back of his armour opened and unfurled, revealing not only a small turbofan pack, but also a feature that all Leg'hrul are naturally born with.

From his back, Norstith flexed the large wings, beating the air fiercely beneath them as he stopped himself falling, and as he rose, he fired his own turbofan pack, giving him a speed boost. He brought out a hidden plasma handgun, and as he found Alex in his sights, he pulled the trigger.

Just 3 metres from the entry platform, Alex felt a shock as the plasma bolt ripped into his back turbofan circuitry. The flight equipment shut down, the safety parameters taking effect, at the worst possible time.

Yelling in fear, Alex reached out with his dark matter left arm, extending it into a tendril to latch onto the platform, pulling himself the extra metre that he would have not made in freefall. With his remaining right hand, the Dark Hunter grasped the platform edge, and began pulling himself up.

A shadow flew over Alex's head, and he then felt a set of talons dig into his mechanical right hand. A cry of shock ran through Alex's vocal chords, as he saw Norstith standing on his remaining support from a falling death.

Digging harder, Norstith hissed into his former apprentice's face: "My duty is not finished! I swore I would help the Alliance, and the KI was the perfect cover to do so under! Now I shall eliminate one part of their plan that will only bring about their end! AAAH!"

A tendril of dark matter had smashed into the Leg'hrul's face, driving him back into the entry corridor. Alex used his dark left arm and his right mechanical arm to hoist himself up. Standing upright, Alex held the device out for Norstith to see, relishing the fear in his eyes.

He pressed the button.

Behind him, the fuel feeders for the massive fusion reactor began to massively increase their fuel pumping. The temperature in the reactor began to rapidly climb, and the humming of the reactor grew louder and louder.

In the corridor, Norstith grabbed Alex by the throat, and slammed him back into the corridor walls, exclaiming: "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Norstith punched Alex in the gut, sending him sprawling onto the corridor floor, beginning to cough up blood. Alex wheezed out: "The right thing."

A pair of clawed hands yanked Alex off the floor, and slammed him once more onto the floor, this time on the very edge of the reactor entry balcony, so Alex's head hung slightly over the balcony edge. Norstith pined the human beneath his foot, yelling with slight tears of rage and sadness in his eyes: "EVERYTHING I DID, ALL TO PROTECT MY REMAINING FAMILY! NOW THEY WILL BE KILLED, BECAUSE I FAILED!"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THEY WILL? WITH YOU DEAD, THEIR HOSTAGE THREAT WILL HAVE NO MORE SWAY OVER ANYONE! THEY COULD RELEASE THEM!" Yelled Alex, ignoring the blood flying from his mouth. Behind them, the reactor noise grew steadily louder. Ignorant of this stated fact, Norstith lost all patience:

"YOU DESTROYED EVERYTHING I WORKED FOR!"

"YOU TAUGHT ME TO DO ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE RIGHT THING! I CANNOT LET THIS FLEET FULFILL ITS INTENDED ROLE!"

As Alex yelled this, over the growing reactor noise, two things were occurring to him. One, he had a countdown timer installed in his ear, to tell when the reactor would detonate. And two, he decided to reveal to Norstith why he so willingly chose to die today.

Alex finished the argument, as the reactor would blow in a few seconds: "I WILL NOT LET THE ALLIANCE OR THE KI BRANCH COMMIT ATROCITIES ANY LONGER! AND I MADE SURE TO LEAVE A WAY FOR ME TO SEE THAT SUCH ATROCITIES NEVER HAPPEN MYSELF!"

Alex raised his right wrist, opening a small panel to reveal a red button. Norstith studied it, and within a second, he realized that Alex had played him for a fool, and that he had been ready all along. He had never come to sabotage and escape, for he had found an easier way.

A one way trip, which he could still return from.

Regardless, Norstith had simultaneously duped Alex in this case. Despite Alex's planning, Norstith had ensured he would survive, no matter what happened to him. This conflict between them was far from over.

Ignoring the apparent smirk on Norstith's face, Alex hit the button. The familiar blackout hit Alex, and in his last moment of vision, he saw Norstith above him, beginning to sway and faint, to Alex obviously realizing he had lost.

Both warriors fell to the floor.

3 seconds later, the reactor detonated.

From hundreds of kilometres away aboard the former KI destroyer Relentless, the explosion of the KI fleet was truly a magnificent sight.

Against the backdrop of the Teranthos Nebula, a new star was born instantly. The Emancipator's rear section ripped apart in a large explosion, and was obliterated in a few milliseconds as the antimatter fuel and warheads fell from suspension. The dreadnought was almost instantaneously transformed into a glowing white fireball, consuming the surrounding fleet of dozens of ships, including battleships, cruisers, destroyers and corvettes.

Like dominoes, the rest of the fleet was incinerated, and then detonated milliseconds afterwards. The Teranthos Nebula was illuminated by the glare of 285 kilograms of antimatter annihilating within seconds of each detonation. The force of the explosion sent the tiny cosmic dust particles of the nebula that surrounded where the fleet had been colliding with one another.

As fate would have it, the destruction of the Emancipator fleet had created an artificial equivalent of the beginnings of star formation. The force of a blast, normally a supernova, caused slight increases of mass in the nebula, which eventually pulled more material in, until eventually becoming dense enough to undergo fusion. In tens to hundreds of million of years, new stars would be born in the Teranthos nebula, brought about by the destruction of the KI fleet.

To the artificial intelligence network of troopers and programs that ran the Relentless, this interesting development was irrelevant. The critical goal at the moment was to ensure that the data had uploaded onto the quantum storage files correctly.

"**Data transmission verified. All required data present."**

"**Anomaly. Unknown data present with download. Protocol: do not delete any data, otherwise will risk compromising compatibility of A76 with required data."**

"**Security bypass recognized. 212% data recovered."**

"**Engaging FTL drives."**

With its final role complete, the Relentless vanished in a streak of light, disappearing from view, even though anyone nearby had been completely vaporized. The required data had been recovered, and behind it, the briefly created star began to fade, and a few minutes later, there was no trace of the KI fleet's existence. Only distress messages issued would be received.

**System E-67G, 400 light years from Sol.**

**13****th**** April 2900**

The Relentless had rejoined the Liberator fleet in an uncharted star system. For now, the fleet had to gather supplies, deploying mining drones to gather deuterium and helium-3 from the rings of a massive gas giant, a 'hot Jupiter' planet. Sheltering behind the planet's dark side, the fleet was protected as the drones skimmed the rings, gathering the fuel for the fusion reactors.

Within two hours, the fleet would make the jump back to Solaris. Due to the massive distance travelled by the fleet, the fuel consuming change in course upon hearing of Alex and Xale's escape, the fleet had to stop on route to the base.

Aboard the Liberator, the quantum data pod was delivered safely, perfectly intact and functional, its precious load safe and secure. Raxler studied it, its processor attempting to form a consensus as to why the data load was so extremely greater than anticipated. Finding no viable conclusion, it walked off to the bridge, ready to command the fleet to jump.

In the medical bay, Xale lay down on one of the medical beds, the medical gel and surgical robots fixing the damage done to his body, internal and external. The medi-gel contained a cloud of tiny nanodoctors, which worked rapidly to seal wounds, help more accelerate muscle and growth repair, and also could ease pain, to name a few things.

Lexa sat on the neighbouring bed, as she expected that Xale would remain calm if he awoke with her nearby. Her brother was always distrustful of everyone but herself. Quite frankly, due to the anaesthetic the medical robots gave Xale, and orders by Raxler, which Lexa agreed with, Xale would be kept under until they had unloaded at the Solaris planetary base, an island by what Raxler had told her. It was not a personal matter, but more for safety, as Xale my freak out and damage himself and other people or equipment. It was best until they were planetside, where they could more easily explain things.

Indeed, two hours later, the KI fleet had vanished, and within another day, would reach Solaris, ready to begin the next stage of their rapidly formulated battle plans.


	22. Chapter 22

**Redemption of the Dark kind**

**Chapter 22: The growing storm of war.**

**14****th**** April 2900.**

**Ki'ristalis, UIP central intelligence bureau.**

"Sir, this report came in from the scouts concerning the escape of the war criminals Alex and the anonymous male human."

The Chief of Intelligence studied the file his secretary handed to him, reviewing the datapad in interest. After carefully tracing ion vapour trails and mass distortions, UIP scouts had managed to locate the two war criminals, along with the KI fleet, in the Teranthos nebula. After many months since the KI emerged, and the Mars attack, the primary KI fleet had been located.

The report went into detail, showing massive energy readings, identical to that of the fleet that participated in the KI strike on Mars, in the Sol system. No attempts were made to attack the fleet, as any ships near enough to try to intercept the two criminals would have stood no chance against the strength of the fleet, as it comprised of an unidentified super dreadnought, and multiple battleships, cruisers, destroyers and strike corvettes.

Well, it had comprised of such a collection of vessels.

Intel had gathered a quick burst of comms chatter on non crypted channels, a series of alerts among the fleet of severe engineering malfunctions. Next, the intel reports a gargantuan increase in energy levels in the general vicinity of the fleet.

Stunned, the Chief sat back in his chair. The entire core KI fleet had been destroyed, by mere engineering malfunction. Intel had suggested sabotage, not poor maintenance, as a more likely cause. Nevertheless, the strength of the third faction of the war had been all but obliterated. Incidentally, there was no chance that Alex or the other escaped male had been able to escape the blast.

Happily, the Chief brought up his contacts, to spread the news. Even though Alex had come back from the dead, he could have used cloning. There was absolutely no way anything would have been left of Alex, the unknown male, or the fleet.

The advantage of this meant that with the KI faction removed, the UIP could focus its war effort fully on the Alliance.

Over the course of the coming month, the mysterious destruction of the KI fleet would be known. The KI remnants would disperse, surrendering to either the KI or Alliance, offering their services in their armed forces, in exchange for mercy, or just handing over their equipment and vehicles and disappearing amongst the public once more.

Among the UIP and Alliance, unexpected victory was welcome. With one faction gone, the war would be less bloody now. Among the three factions, the KI had been the smallest, but due to its ferocity and excellent infiltration of both sides, had also been possibly the most destructive.

Unfortunately, the destruction of the KI had its downsides. Truthfully, even among its more secretive ranks, it had been dedicated to making the war so brutal that both other sides would give in for fear of more death. With the dissolution of the KI though, any upcoming possibilities of peaceful resolution had vanished, the destruction of one faction practically egging on both sides.

And in some cases, plans that had been developed for the war could now be more easily applied with the lack of a third front. Plans, that if successful, could permanently tip the balance of power in the known galaxy.

**15****th**** April 2900**

**Alliance space**

**Varya system, Varya-6 station.**

"_**The KI plan was a waste of time and resources!"**_

"_**Silence! The KI was needed to draw attention away from the Alliance. With the UIP diverting resources to fight the KI, our ultimate plan could be put into action and prepared. Even with the destruction of the KI, we now require only the few more 'difficult' resources, the recruits."**_

"_**The technology needed for this plan is beyond our full grasp. We lack the resources and knowledge to prepare a military venture of the scale and nature we have planned."**_

"_Ministers please. The recruits have been carefully selected for the express purpose of providing us with the final preparations of the plan. We need only fully 'convince' them. In that area, our technology is sufficiently advanced. We need only get near enough to put it into action."_

"_**This plan had better be worth it. Because of the destruction of the KI fleet, Norstith has failed us, along with his pupils. One of them failed to meet our expectations months ago! And now he is dead too!"**_

"_The loss of Norstith and his projects is a setback. However, the links that he and his pupils gained by closely associating with the UIP members we need can be worked to our advantage. In the case of the loss of Norstith, I must recommend that we need not keep his sister and her family imprisoned any longer. We can release them, they have no purpose as hostages anymore."_

"_**Fair enough. I will authorize the release immediately after this meeting is adjourned. Now, as you were saying?"**_

"_Yes, back to the point. Two of the members I have requested are of paramount significance. Their race was the one that developed the technology we need for our goal."_

"_**I understand that. But you are sure that they will be easy to mould to our cause?"**_

"_One opportunity each is all that is required to ensure their servitude."_

"_**Very well. Proceed as planned. Construction is scheduled to finish within 2 weeks on the station. By the end of the month, if you have not reported back with news of recruiting or if need be for security, killing each required member, consider the entire project scrapped, and you out of a job."**_

"_Understood."_

As communications died, the Kro'nogri sat down in his chair, gazing out of the observation window at the construction works. Inside the station, and also on the outside, the wiring and plating was being welded into place. The station was nearly ready to fulfil its role, and all it needed was the technology.

In the centre of a massive hall, 6 massive archways stood in two parallel lines, each archway 100 metres wide. On both sides, each portal row was just over 300 metres in length.

On the outside of the space station, massive circular rings, about 1500 metres in diameter, rested in a hexagon shape, surrounding an exposed section of the massive station's cylindrical armour plating. At the base of each individual archway column or edge of each ring was a slot, in which the necessary hardware was needed.

The supplies for the hardware were already gathered, but it would take the recruited members to assemble them correctly for use.

The arches and rings currently served as giant FTL relays, able to slingshot vessels into space many light years away, up to 100 light years away. They were used for rapid delivery of supplies. However, the tech they needed for the plan would greatly enhance the speed and precision of the transportation.

Not in nearly the last 900 years had something of this scale and technological nature been carried out, and with its instigation, the war would change, for better or worse.

**16****th**** April 2900**

**Solaris system, 1200 light years from Sol.**

**Island base**

Fleet maintenance was slow but steady. While the fleet in pursuit of Alex had been undamaged in the attack and pursuit, the other orbital vessels had undergone repairs during the pursuit time. By now, all major damage had been repaired, and only some non-critical damage was left to repair on each vessel. Repair drones from each vessel emitted glows from their welding torches, illuminating the hulls where they worked.

In orbit, the Liberator, cruiser Subjugator, two destroyers [including Relentless] and the two corvettes, had rejoined the orbiting fleet. On the ground, developments were being made in preparation for the likely coming battlefront.

"**A76 has attained full physical maturity. Data integration, physical and mental testing shall be confined to growth environment. Estimated time until subject A76 is viable for awakening: 4 days."**

The soulless medical ward robot repeated these words to Raxler, who stood passively before the sealed tank containing A76. The subject had attained all required physical features, and the physical improvements had gone smoothly. Once the rest of the testing was complete, he could be brought out of his deep sleep.

Casting its synthetic disguised optics, the robot shifted its gaze to Xale, who had awoken and was being debriefed by Lexa. Regardless of his willingness to cooperate, he would be kept under restraint until full cooperation and allegiance was achieved and guaranteed.

"We were just tools. I still can't believe you betrayed your master Lexa. I would never have thought you of all people would betray so willingly."

"Norstith sent us after Alex alone, telling us not to return if we couldn't get him successfully! I had no life outside his service until Raxler offered for me to serve him and Alex!"

"But why?"

"I've thought about what the KI had planned with that fleet! And also, I learnt that Norstith lied to us. He was being controlled, the KI was just a secret branch of the Alliance military. Why do you think we attacked UIP targets more often? And if you don't believe me, read this."

Lexa roughly placed a datapad in Xale's hands, which despite being restrained, allowed enough movement to read and scroll through its contents. Xale silently read the datapad, his eyes widening gradually, the anger disappearing from his face.

He placed the datapad aside, and asked: "How did they persuade Norstith to set up the KI?"

"KI overall commander Norstith established the KI branch under force. The militant leaders of the Allaince saw his insubordination early in the war, and in order to get him to follow through with his designated role in their plans, they held his remaining family hostage. Their safety, in exchange for his cooperation. Alex's recreation, and the creation of you and Lexa, were part of the request for an elite team to lead the Alliance forces in the final stages of their upcoming classified operation." Raxler monotonously stated this, to which Xale's eyebrows furrowed. He muttered:

"So much for pride. He let a group of Alliance bullies use his family against him."

"On the subject of Norstith's family, statistical analysis denotes a majority chance that family shall be released unharmed, as their presence as hostages is now of no use." At the robot's final statement, Lexa smiled somewhat: "At least they'll be fine now."

Xale snorted, and said: "I never knew them, but at least they're not a problem any more. So what's our next step?"

Raxler brought up a holographic billboard, and pointed to each document presented as he did so:

"Primary directive is to build up militant force in preparation for assault against the Alliance operation headquarters. Intel provided by Alex from the Emancipator's databanks has confirmed the location and date which the operation is scheduled. They are primarily awaiting recruitment of figures with access to required technology, wiling or otherwise. Our base's facilities will handle military hardware build-up."

"Secondary directive is to strengthen our leadership in diversity and capability. Upon A76's awakening, we shall begin pursuit of recommended individuals on this world that are deemed capable or trustworthy, and shall recruit them by whatever means."

Xale looked over at the tank, and said: "So this all really kicks into high gear when he wakes up?"

"Affirmative."

"In which case, we'd better get busy. If Lexa trusts you, I guess I can too." Upon this, Raxler had performed a biochemical scan. IUpon no detection of aggression or tension, he commanded the restraints to be released.

Minutes later, Lexa strolled out the door to head for her quarters, but her brother's voice from his recovery bed caused her to turn around:

"Hey sis."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for opening my eyes to the truth."

She smiled, and turned to the hallway, and said back: "Get of that bed soon. Once your back, we're hitting the ground running."

As his sister left, the dark clone turned to the tank, and said in a disgruntled tone: "This had better be worth me betraying Norstith. Oh what do I care, he's dead now."

Xale fell back onto his pillow, and rested, the medigel still healing the scars of his less than honourably inflicted injuries.

All the while, A76 twitched in his tank of oxygen rich fluid, fingers and forehead flexing and furrowing in concentration, as an unusual headache caused mild pain to it as the data was fully integrated to its mechanically enhanced brain.

**Finally, finished****.****Please leave reviews**** of the whole story, and the saga so far. I have most of the third installment planned out now, and it shall wrap up the story nicely. Just to let readers know my method of story development, I take inspiration from many stories, add a few original twists or features, and adapt them to my fictional needs. As for characters, I take inspiration from fictional and non-fictional individuals, and even some people I know.**

**The time gap between this story and the third shall be much shorter, a few days instead of the months long gap between this and my previous story. The third story shall be called 'Dark Hunter, Dark Saviour'.**


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